Here's the heinous way Republicans plan to fund tax cuts for the rich

TRYING TO SPEAK OUT OF BOTH SIDES OF HIS MOUTH: House Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana, says that the GOP's budget proposal "reflects our collective commitment to enacting the President’s full agenda—not just a part of it."

ROBIN HOOD IN REVERSE: “They have one agenda — stealing from the poor and giving to the rich.”

 

By Emily Singer 

Daily Kos Staff 

Wednesday, February 12, 2025 at 5:00:13p MST

REPUBLISHED BY: 

By Emily Singer Daily Kos Staff House Republicans released a budget proposal Wednesday outlining plans to pay for President Donald Trump's tax cuts for the rich by forcing deep cuts to programs like food stamps and Medicaid.

"This budget resolution is a key step to start the process in delivering President Trump’s America First agenda. With nearly every House Republican directly engaged in this deliberative process, this resolution reflects our collective commitment to enacting the President’s full agenda—not just a part of it,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana, posted on X

The budget blueprint calls for $880 billion in cuts to Medicaid—the program that provides health insurance to 72 million low-income Americans—over the next 10 years, which would require states to either come up with the money to fund it themselves or slash benefits for recipients.

The budget also calls for $230 billion in cuts to food stamps, which the Center for American Progress says amounts to a 20% cut to the program that helps feed 42 million Americans annually. Many food stamp recipients live in red states that Trump won by large margins, such as West Virginia, Oklahoma, and Louisiana, which have some of the highest populations of food stamp recipients in the country.

A protester holds a sign that reads, “Save our lives … don’t cut Medicaid.”

And in recent days, Republicans and DOGE bro Elon Musk have suggested that they are coming for Social Security, the popular social safety net program that provides an income for retirees. Politicians have historically avoided cutting Social Security for fear of voter backlash.

All of these cuts would be used to pay for the $4.5 trillion renewal of Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, which overwhelmingly benefited the wealthiest tax payers. A Tax Policy Center analysis found that the top 1% of earners received an average tax cut of more than $60,000 in 2025, while the bottom 60% received an average annual tax cut of just $500.

The Republicans’ budget says that their ultimate goal is to reduce mandatory spending by $2 trillion—this includes Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid, and veterans benefits. If they cannot find $2 trillion, the tax cuts “should be reduced by a commensurate amount to offset the difference,” according to the budget.

Republicans plan to have a budget hearing on Thursday, with a goal of passing the budget by the end of the month, CNN reported.

Republicans have admitted that those kinds of cuts will be “painful” for Americans. Ultimately, making these kinds of cuts could be politically disastrous for the GOP.

A January poll from the Democratic firm Hart Research found that 76% of voters have a favorable view of Medicaid, and that 78% disapprove of major Medicaid cuts. It also found that 82% of voters disapprove of making cuts to health care programs in order to pay for tax cuts.

Democrats immediately lambasted the Republican budget proposal.

"Senate Republicans' partisan budget resolution would toss programs like SNAP and Medicaid into the woodchipper—all in service of passing tax giveaways for the wealthiest Americans," Sen. Patty Murray of Washington wrote on X.

And Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina shared similar opposition to the GOP budget proposal in a post on X. 

“They have one agenda — stealing from the poor and giving to the rich.”

Musk has said they are coming for Grandma's Social Security, all in the interest of tax cuts for his rich buddies.