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"Instead of choosing to protect the American people, they chose to protect billionaires and corporations," said the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee.
House Republicans advanced their budget plan out of committee Thursday night after a 12-hour markup session during which they rejected dozens of Democratic amendments, including proposed changes that would have protected Medicaid and federal nutrition benefits from the deep cuts the GOP hopes to impose to help finance trillions of dollars in tax breaks for the richest Americans.
The House Budget Committee advanced the Republican resolution, unveiled earlier this week, in a 21-16 vote along party lines. Prior to the vote, GOP members agreed to adopt an amendment offered by Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-Pa.) that, according toPolitico, effectively caps "the cost of the tax cuts at $4 trillion, with a dollar-for-dollar increase in that ceiling if Republicans cut more spending, up to a total of $2 trillion in cuts."
Democrats on the panel offered more than 30 amendments to the budget resolution, all of which Republicans rejected.
"Each of our amendments was a direct effort to shield the American people from the reckless cuts embedded in this proposal, cuts that will hurt the most vulnerable while giving trillions of dollars of handouts to the ultra-rich," Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, said in his closing remarks at Thursday's hearing. "We fought to protect Medicaid and Medicare, ensuring that seniors, low-income families, children, and people with disabilities don't see their healthcare stripped away."
"We proposed amendments to maintain funding for public education, ensuring that schools remain adequately resourced and that teachers don't bear the burden of budget shortfalls," Boyle continued. "And we stood up for veterans who risked their lives for this country and deserve more than empty rhetoric. They deserve fully funded healthcare, food assistance, and the benefits they earned through their service. Yet, despite the clear benefits of these proposals, Republicans oppose all of them."
"Instead of choosing to protect the American people," he added, "they chose to protect billionaires and corporations."
"This isn't government of, by, and for the people; it's government of, by, and for billionaires."
The Republican budget blueprint calls for more than a trillion dollars in cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provide healthcare and food aid to tens of millions of low-income Americans.
"These aren't just numbers," Sharon Parrott, president of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, stressed in response to the House GOP resolution. "The loss of Medicaid means, for example, a parent can't get cancer treatment, and a young adult can't get insulin to control their diabetes. Cuts to food assistance mean a parent skips meals so their children can eat or an older person who lost their job has no way to buy groceries."
In addition to advancing the GOP's far-right ideological project, such cuts would partly offset the costs of Republicans' proposed tax breaks—which would disproportionately benefit the wealthiest people in the country, including the billionaires in President Donald Trump's Cabinet.
"Republicans are cutting Medicaid and SNAP to pay for tax breaks for the richest 1% of Americans," the progressive advocacy group Americans for Tax Fairness wrote in a social media post on Thursday. "They are literally taking $1.1 TRILLION away from you, and giving it to the wealthiest people in the country."
Thursday's vote marks a first step toward passage of a sprawling, filibuster-proof budget reconciliation package that will include a slew of Republican priorities.
But the House GOP must resolve its differences with Senate Republicans, who are pushing for two bills instead of one. The Senate plan, which Republicans advanced out of committee earlier this week, also calls for major cuts to Medicaid and SNAP.
"This Republican budget opens the door to massive cuts for families," Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, said Thursday. "Democrats on the committee offered amendment after amendment to protect healthcare, housing, and education—all of the foundations working families need to thrive—and Republicans blocked every single one of them, all to later divert those cuts into massive tax breaks for the richest Americans."
"This is the Great Betrayal," Merkley added. "Trump campaigned on protecting families, but President Trump and Senate Republicans are all about protecting their billionaire friends. This isn't government of, by, and for the people; it's government of, by, and for billionaires."
Trump's decision to halt funding for a variety of federal programs is "straight out of Project 2025, the far-right blueprint crafted by Russell Vought," said one lawmaker.
The confusion and chaos triggered earlier this week by the Trump administration's federal funding freeze were compounded Wednesday when the Office of Management and Budget issued a new memo rescinding the previous announcement.
Shortly after White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that the OMB had rescinded only the memo—not the funding freeze—in an effort to "end any confusion created by" a federal court's injunction blocking the directive, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said one thing was clear.
"No responsible senator of any party should vote to confirm [Russell] Vought to OMB," said the congresswoman.
The original order, which said all federal grants and loans would be halted starting at 5:00 pm ET Tuesday and which resulted in Medicaid payment portals being shut down across the country, and its subsequent rescission, offered "just a taste of the chaos Russ Vought would unleash," added Ocasio-Cortez, urging Americans to demand that their senators vote against President Donald Trump's nominee for OMB director.
Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) echoed Ocasio-Cortez, saying the attempt to freeze federal grants was "straight out of Project 2025, the far-right blueprint crafted by Russell Vought."
Vought, who led the OMB during Trump's first term, is a co-author of the Heritage Foundation-led Project 2025, which calls for the president to "ignore laws that safeguard Congress' constitutional power of the purse," said Boyle.
That was what Monday evening's order did, critics have said this week, when it called for federal agencies to conduct a "comprehensive analysis" of their spending to ensure the use of grants and loans comply with Trump's executive orders, including those banning diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and denying that transgender people exist.
Leavitt refused to answer a question at a press briefing Tuesday regarding whether the directive would impact Medicaid—but before the briefing was over, Democratic lawmakers said that payment portals for the healthcare program for low-income households and people with disabilities had been disabled due to the OMB memo.
Head Start early childhood education programs also saw an immediate impact, and Democrats warned that clinical trials could promptly be canceled without funding.
As Democratic lawmakers vowed to fight the administration's freeze and some called for the Senate Budget Committee to halt consideration of Vought's nomination on Tuesday, nonprofit groups and businesses filed a legal challenge, leading U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan in the District of Columbia to grant a "brief administrative stay" directing the OMB not to freeze funds until a hearing scheduled for February 3.
Democrats and progressive advocates were briefly elated Wednesday afternoon when the OMB announced it was rescinding the previous memo—but Leavitt's subsequent comments soon added to the confusion over whether or not programs such as Meals on Wheels and Medicaid would be able to continue operating.
"In light of the injunction, OMB has rescinded the memo to end any confusion on federal policy created by the court ruling and the dishonest media coverage," said Leavitt. "The executive orders issued by the president on funding reviews remain in full force and effect and will be rigorously implemented by all agencies and departments. This action should effectively end the court case and allow the government to focus on enforcing the president's orders on controlling federal spending. In the coming weeks and months, more executive action will continue to end the egregious waste of federal funding."
Mike Ollen, senior political adviser to Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who spoke out vehemently against the funding freeze on Tuesday, said the White House had been "clear as mud" about how Americans would be impacted by president's executive orders.
"Kick elderly folks off of Meals on Wheels, kick kids off of their healthcare, and then rescind the memo detailing it but not the policy itself," said Ollen. "Great work all around."
Bobby Kogan, senior director of federal budget policy for the Center for American Progress, said the rescission of the memo was "a profoundly welcome step," but noted that it's clear the White House is moving forward with "other illegal impoundments," including foreign assistance, Inflation Reduction Act, and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funds.
"This won't be the last time they try to override the will of the American people," said Boyle. "Even now, the White House is still withholding funding that was approved on a bipartisan basis—including critical infrastructure investments. We must remain vigilant—because Trump and his far-right allies will continue to try and put programs that millions of middle-class families rely on at risk."
"Make no mistake: imposing new tariffs, mass deportations, and politicizing the Federal Reserve will lead to skyrocketing prices," said the Joint Economic Committee chair.
Leading Democratic lawmakers used new federal inflation data on Wednesday to renew their warnings about the economic threat posed by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and pledge to keep fighting for working America—despite minorities in Congress.
"Democrats continue to fight to lower costs, and we saw promising signs last month that the cost of energy, groceries, and new vehicles stabilized. But with President-elect Trump in office, the reality for Americans' finances will become bleak," said Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), chair of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC).
Throughout Trump's campaign against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, JEC Democrats released reports warning about Project 2025, a sweeping far-right policy plan for the next Republican president. Although Trump tried at times to distance himself from the Heritage Foundation-led initiative, it was crafted by at least 140 people who served in his first administration—and since Election Day, there have been clear signals from the president-elect's allies that "yeah actually Project 2025 is the agenda."
Heinrich said that "Trump and Republicans have led Americans to believe that their policies will lower costs, but make no mistake: imposing new tariffs, mass deportations, and politicizing the Federal Reserve will lead to skyrocketing prices. And that's only a sample of the inflationary policies Republicans have laid out in their Project 2025 playbook."
"Democrats have built a strong economy with smart policies that empower workers, grow the middle class, and lower costs for families. Meanwhile, Trump's policies will only help his CEO friends and ultimately lead to a weaker economy," he continued. "Democrats' commitment to families will not end because of a new Trump administration. We'll continue fighting to ease the financial burdens on families and ensure everyone across the country feels relief."
"American families cannot afford more Republican 'trickle-down' economics that throws the middle class under the bus while slashing taxes for billion-dollar corporations."
Congressman Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), ranking member of the House Budget Committee, responded similarly to the consumer price index (CPI) data on Wednesday, declaring, "Make no mistake: Trump's tariffs are taxes by another name—and it is hard-working American families who will pay the price."
"While today's report continues to show the progress we've made under the Biden-Harris administration, CEOs are already talking about raising prices for consumers in response to Trump's tax hikes," Boyle noted.
NPRreported last week that "forecasters at Pantheon Macroeconomics project that a 10% tariff would increase inflation by about 0.8 percentage points next year and impose an additional drag on U.S. manufacturers." Companies warning of price hikes if Trump's tariffs are implemented include AutoZone, Columbia Sportswear, and Stanley Black & Decker.
"I am deeply concerned that Trump's plans will force Americans to pay higher prices for everything from clothing to groceries," Boyle said. "American families cannot afford more Republican 'trickle-down' economics that throws the middle class under the bus while slashing taxes for billion-dollar corporations."
Steven Mnuchin, Trump's former treasury secretary, recently toldCNBC that tariffs, sanctions on Iran, and tax cuts will be top issues for Trump—despite Congressional Budget Office analysis that extending tax cuts the Republican passed in his first term to serve wealthy individuals and corporations would add $4.6 trillion to the national deficit.
"The top priority is extending the Trump tax cuts and the signature part of his program. I think that should be easy to pass in Congress, particularly if the Republicans control the House as well," Mnuchin said last week. Since then, decision desks have confirmed Republicans will retain their House majority, in addition to seizing control of the Senate and Oval Office.
Senate Republicans elected Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) as their next leader on Wednesday, just hours after the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that, as expected, the CPI increased 0.2% in October and prices grew 2.6% over the last year. Economists said the data means the Federal Reserve will likely cut interest rates again next month.
Trump is set to be inaugurated in January and has suggested he may try to oust Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whom he appointed in 2017, despite legal barriers. Powell—who has faced criticism from some economists and progressive lawmakers for holding off on rate cuts for so long, at the expense of the working class—seems prepared to fight for his job.
As Fortunereported Monday:
During a news briefing on Thursday after the Fed cut rates, Powell was asked if he would resign if Trump demanded it, and Powell simply replied "no." Later he was asked if he thought a president has the authority to fire or demote a Fed chair or other Fed official in a leadership post, and Powell said, "Not permitted under the law."
That exchange prompted Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) to post on X, "The executive branch should be under the direction of the president. That's how the Constitution was designed. The Federal Reserve is one of many examples of how we've deviated from the Constitution in that regard. Yet another reason why we should #EndTheFed.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk... then reposted it with a "100" emoji that indicates strong support.
Amid a wave of Cabinet picks, Trump announced Tuesday that Musk—the world's richest person and a leading supporter of his campaign—and fellow billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy will lead the not-yet-created Department of Government Efficiency, which will work to "dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies."
As Common Dreamsreported, Lisa Gilbert, co-president of the watchdog group Public Citizen, responded to the news by warning that "'cutting red tape' is shorthand for getting rid of the safeguards that protect us in order to benefit corporate interests."