Tag: republicans
Mike Lee

GOP And Musk Demanding Social Security Cuts To Fund Trump's Tax Scam

Republican lawmakers are explicitly saying they are looking into cutting Social Security to pay for President Donald Trump's tax cuts—touching the third rail of politics as they seek to pass Dear Leader's agenda.

Republican Rep. Riley Moore of West Virginia, told Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo on Monday that Republicans have been “discussing” cutting mandatory spending—that is Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and veterans benefits—in order to pass Trump's tax cut agenda, which will require trillions in reciprocal cuts if Republicans want to make it a reality.

"That's what we've been discussing," Moore said. "This is our once in a lifetime opportunity."

Rep. Riley Moore says Republicans are looking to pay for more tax cuts with cuts to mandatory spending -- that is, Social Security and Medicare

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) February 10, 2025 at 2:49 PM

Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, also went even further in a post on X, saying that, "Social Security [is] a ripoff for most Americans compared to essentially any legitimate retirement investment."

The comment was in response to a post from co-President Elon Musk, who pushed incorrect information about how Social Security works to claim the program is rife with fraud. Musk loves to use claims of fraud as justification to slash federal spending through the Department of Government Efficiency, an advisory commission Trump created in order to cut the federal budget.

"Just learned that the social security database is not de-duplicated, meaning you can have the same SSN many times over, which further enables MASSIVE FRAUD!! Your tax dollars are being stolen," Musk wrote.

In fact, the news outlet Semaforreported that Social Security benefits are indeed next on DOGE’s list for cuts. According to Semafor:

The Social Security Administration is an upcoming focus of the Department of Government Efficiency, a source with knowledge of its work told Semafor, and one person involved in DOGE is currently preparing to work with the agency that provides benefits to the elderly and disabled.

Musk’s unqualified DOGE bros have already accessed the Treasury Department’s systems that make payments for Social Security, raising alarm bells from Democratic lawmakers.

“The federal government is not Twitter. It matters if Elon breaks things at the Social Security Administration. Musk has no clue what SSA employees do, nor does he care—it doesn't matter to him if you miss a Social Security Check. He belongs NOWHERE NEAR your Social Security,” Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, wrote in a post on X.

Cutting Social Security benefits could cause a massive backlash from voters.

A January poll from the American Association of Retired Persons found that 85 percent of Americans say they want Social Security benefits to be maintained, even if that requires raising taxes.

“It is rare in today’s political climate to see people unite around anything, but virtually all Americans want their Social Security benefits to be preserved and are willing to do what it takes to ensure the program continues to provide meaningful support for future generations,” Deb Whitman, AARP’s chief public policy officer, said in a statement on the findings.

But Social Security isn’t the only social safety net program that Republicans want to slash in order to pay for Trump’s tax cuts for the rich.

Republican Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland, also went on Bartiromo's show Monday morning to say that Republicans are also looking to implement work requirements for Medicaid and food stamps.

"We think there should be work requirements for able-bodied people who choose not to work,” Harris said. “We don't think they should be on Medicaid. We don't think they should be receiving food stamps."

Rep. Andy Harris: "We think there should be work requirements for able-bodied people who choose not to work. We don't think they should be on Medicaid. We don't think they should be receiving food stamps."

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— Aaron Rupar (

@atrupar.com) February 10, 2025 at 2:51 PM

The only state to ever have implemented work requirements for Medicaid was Arkansas. And the experiment failed.

From the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities:

The Arkansas policy was a failure in many respects:

  • The work-reporting requirement harmed thousands of people by taking away their health coverage, leaving many uninsured. It harmed thousands of others by requiring them to live under the ongoing stress of potential coverage loss.
  • People who were supposed to be exempted from submitting monthly proof of their work hours were not always shielded from losing coverage.
  • The requirement imposed extreme levels of red tape on targeted Medicaid enrollees, resulting in coverage losses and no increases in employment.

Of course, for any of these cuts to become reality, the GOP-controlled Congress would have to actually pass them. And Politicoreported that the Republican infighting about what to cut and how deep those cuts will be is threatening the party’s ability to pass Trump’s agenda.

But never underestimate Republicans’ ability to fall in line when Trump asks them to. If his agenda is imperiled, Trump is sure to put pressure on GOP lawmakers.

It’s why Democrats are imploring supporters to make their voices heard in the hopes that a massive public backlash could finally break Republicans’ subservience to Trump.

“Show up to things,” Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, wrote in a post on X laying out the ways the public can thwart Trump’s agenda. “Protests. Town hall meetings. Picket lines. Political leaders—yes, even Republicans—pay attention to public, in person action more than anything else.”

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.

Democrats Smack President For Dropping Promise To Reduce Food Prices

Democrats Smack President For Dropping Promise To Reduce Food Prices

Recent Department of Agriculture data shows that egg prices increased 14.5 percent since President Donald Trump took office, increasing from $6.57 to $7.52 per dozen. And for the week of February 2 through February 7, egg prices have gone up even more, with large eggs costing $7.72 per dozen.

Bird flu has caused egg prices to rise to all-time highs in grocery stores, fast-food chains, and diners, but Trump has yet to address the issue.

In fact, since his second term began, Trump has only uttered the word “food” six times when speaking at a political rally or to reporters. He hasn't said the word “eggs” since he was sworn in.

Instead, Trump has been focused on signing a staggering 84 executive actions—including orders, proclamations, and memos—with not a single one focused explicitly on lowering food costs. After combing through the text of each executive action, Daily Kos found that the words “food” and “eggs” were usedone single time.

A February 1 executive order on tariffs against Mexico, Canada, and China doesn’t only omit food costs, but it would actually raise food prices for Americans.

All of Trump’s sweeping executive orders show his priorities clearly lie elsewhere, like falsely blaming DEI for a tragic plane crash, appointing televangelists to an “anti-Christian bias” taskforce, discriminating against trans people, and unconstitutionally banning birthright citizenship.

Trump is likely banking on Americans having short memories, since it was only a few months ago that he couldn’t stop talking about how he’d fix food prices before being elected.

During the last days of his campaign, from October 12 to November 4, he mentioned “eggs” four times and “food” 23 times. But during his first week in office, he changed his tune, telling reporters that inflation is no longer his No. 1 issue.

“They all said inflation was the No. 1 issue. I said, ‘I disagree,’” Trump said on January 26. “I talked about inflation too, but how many times can you say that an apple has doubled in cost?”

Democrats take to the floor to call out Trump’s ‘eggflation’

“Why did the Senator cross the road?” Sen. Jack Reed, Democrat of Rhode Island asked on Thursday. “To help drive down ‘eggflation.’"

“The Trump Administration has taken zero substantive steps to address the situation,” he said in a letter to USDA pick Brooke Rollins on Thursday, urging her to act on lowering egg prices.

On Tuesday, Sen. Jacky Rosen, Democrat of Nevada, addressed Trump’s inaction on lowering food costs on the Senate floor. She showed photos of her state’s “empty shelves where the eggs are supposed to be” and said that, if people can find them, “they cost an arm and a leg.”

While Democrats are fighting to lower costs and calling out Trump’s tariffs as “taxes on working families,” the GOP is set on supporting Trump’s chaotic and expensive trade war, no matter how much it hurts Americans’ wallets.

“These tariff taxes will affect groceries because the U.S. imports 38 percent of our fresh vegetables, 60 percent of our fresh fruit, and more than 99 percent of the coffee we drink. If we take all these together, Americans could be seeing an extra $200 a year on their grocery bills because of the Trump tariff tax,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire said on Wednesday.

Trump is making it apparent that he has no plans to work on lowering food prices, and he probably never did—he just knew what to say to swindle voters.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.

Police Unions Enraged By Trump's January 6 Pardons As Republicans Defend Them

Police Unions Enraged By Trump's January 6 Pardons As Republicans Defend Them

House Republicans are at odds with the nation’s two largest public safety unions over President Donald Trump’s decision to pardon violent rioters who assaulted police officers.

Trump granted clemency on Jan. 21 to all 1,500 rioters who attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Capitol police officers were beaten and tased during the attack. Some were hospitalized with life-threatening injuries.

The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) issued a joint statement shortly after Trump announced the pardons.

“Crimes against law enforcement are not just attacks on individuals or public safety — they are attacks on society and undermine the rule of law,” the statement said. “Allowing those convicted of these crimes to be released early diminishes accountability and devalues the sacrifices made by courageous law enforcement officers and their families.”

The IACP and FOP combined represent more than 410,000 law enforcement professionals. The FOP endorsed Trump’s 2024 campaign.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), meanwhile, defended Trump’s decision.

“We believe in redemption, we believe in second chances,” Johnson said. “You could argue that those people didn’t pay that heavy penalty, having been incarcerated and all of that. That’s up to you. But the president made a decision. We move forward. There are better days ahead of us.”

Majority Whip Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) told ABC News that voters wanted Trump to pardon the rioters.

“[Trump] did exactly what he campaigned on,” Emmer said. “He said what he was going to do when elected and he was elected by an overwhelming group of Americans. Seventy-seven million Americans gave Donald Trump a mandate.”

Republican Policy Committee Chair Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK) voiced a similar sentiment.

“Only in politics do you get criticized for doing the things that you say you’re going to do,” Hern said. “That's what President Trump ran on — that he was going to pardon many if not all of the January 6 people that were convicted.”

Some of the pardoned rioters have committed other crimes.

Andrew Taake of Texas was convicted of assaulting Capitol police officers with a metal whip and bear spray. He is currently wanted by Harris County police for sexually soliciting a minor online.

David Daneil of North Carolina was convicted of using a barricade to trample a police officer. He was charged with producing and possessing child pornography in October 2024.

Emily Hernandez of Missouri was charged with stealing federal property during the riot. She was arrested last month for killing someone while driving drunk.

An AP-NORC poll from January found that only 20 percent of voters supported pardoning the rioters.

Reprinted with permission from American Journal News.

Mike Flood of Nebraska

Struggling To Fund Trump Tax Scam, House GOP Urges 'Sacrifice'

President Donald Trump on Thursday met with House Republican leaders and laid out his demands to cut taxes for the rich, as well as his proposal to end taxes on tips, overtime pay, and Social Security.

Trump's tax proposal could cost as much as $11 trillion—yes, trillion with a T—over the next 10 years, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonprofit that seeks to reduce the federal budget deficit. It's an astronomical number that, without corresponding cuts, would make the debt at least 132 percent of the gross domestic product of the United States, according to the CRFB.

Because the procedural mechanism Republicans want to use to pass Trump's policy agenda requires that legislation generally not add to the federal debt, that means Republicans would have to offset the tax cuts with massive amounts of cuts elsewhere in the budget.

And even GOP lawmakers are admitting the cuts they’ll need to make will be painful for the American people.

"It will be littered with a collection of ideas, some of which Americans are going to really not be for, but hey, if we don't sacrifice, if we don't understand that this is going to be a painful process, nothing’s going to change," Republican Rep. Mike Flood of Nebraska said in an interview with Bloomberg on Thursday, referring to the forthcoming GOP budget that will be used to pass Trump's tax-cut agenda.

“My message to the American people is: We as a nation, as Americans, have to recognize that this is such a big problem—our debt—that we’re going to have to say no to some programs that we like but we simply can’t afford,” he added.

Republicans have been circulating proposed cuts, including deeply slashing Medicaid—which insures more than 72 million low-income Americans, or more than 20 percent of the U.S. population.

Also on the list? Axing tax breaks to make child care and higher education more affordable. Major cuts to food stamps. Taxing scholarship money. And curtailing employer transportation benefits that make commuting more affordable.

Of course, pain for the American people would come only if Republicans pass the legislation, which is in doubt.

After meeting behind closed doors for five hours on Thursday, House Republicans still don't have an agreed-upon framework for how to move forward, Politicoreported.

That comes after House Republicans couldn't agree to a framework during a recent three-day retreat.

And even if they do figure out a framework, getting it passed will be a separate story since the draconian cuts necessary to cut taxes for the rich would politically damage GOP lawmakers in swing seats.

Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York is expected to soon be confirmed as United Nations ambassador, meaning that Republicans will then have just 217 seats in the House. In other words, for months, their leadership won’t be able to lose a single House vote if they want this tax bill to pass.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.

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