Trump’s Tax and Tariff Plans Are a ‘Major Mistake,’ Biden Warns

Biden on Tuesday
Reuters
By Yuval Rosenberg

Happy Tuesday! On this date 60 years ago, Martin Luther King Jr. accepted his Nobel Peace Prize in a ceremony in Oslo, calling it “a profound recognition that nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral question of our time – the need for man to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to violence and oppression.”

Here’s your evening update as Congress has 10 days to go until a government funding deadline.

Trump’s Tax and Tariff Plans Are a ‘Major Mistake,’ Biden Warns

President Joe Biden on Tuesday vigorously defended his economic record while warning that the policies proposed by his successor would be a “major mistake” that would harm American consumers.

In a speech at the Brookings Institution in Washington, Biden said his policies, focused on building “from the bottom up and the middle out,” have produced “the strongest economy in modern history.” The strength of the economy is particularly noticeable in comparison to other advanced nations, Biden said. “I don't know anybody [who] wouldn't change their economy for ours. Can you think of one, any major nation?”

Biden celebrated the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, which he attributed to the new economic course he laid out. “In four short years, we've come a long way ... from the crisis we inherited,” he said. “We not only beat the pandemic, we broke from the economic orthodoxy that's failed this nation, in my view, for a long time, a theory that led to fewer jobs, less economic growth and bigger deficits.”

Biden asserted that his focus on infrastructure, manufacturing and jobs is still paying dividends and will continue to deliver benefits if policymakers stay the course. “It was long past time for America to make a generational investment in our infrastructure, in our manufacturing base,” he said. “I know it’s been hard for many Americans to see, and I understand they’re just trying to figure out how to put three squares on the table. But I believe it was the right thing to do, not only to lift America out of economic crisis caused by a pandemic, but set America on a stronger course for the future.”

At the same time, Biden warned that the policies proposed by President-elect Donald Trump would undo much of the progress he believes the economy has made while driving up the deficit and forcing cuts to basic services like healthcare and veterans’ benefits.

“By all accounts, the incoming administration is determined to return the country to another round of trickle-down economics and another tax cut for the very wealthy that will not be paid for, or if paid for, is going to have a real cost,” he said. “On top of that, he seems determined to impose steep, universal tariffs on all important goods brought into this country on the mistaken belief that foreign countries will bear the cost of those tariffs, rather than the American consumer.”

“I believe this approach is a major mistake,” Biden said.

In particular, Biden said he hoped that Trump would not follow the Project 2025 plan laid out by the Heritage Foundation for a radical restructuring and downsizing of government. “I pray to God the president-elect throws away Project 2025,” he said. “I think it’d be an economic disaster for us.”

One thing working in favor of sustaining his investments in infrastructure and manufacturing is the fact that so much of the spending is in Republican-led states, Biden said. “The historic investments we made went to more red states than blue states, not a politically smart thing to do,” he said. “And I knew what I was doing. I know people will be angry but the reason [is] the red states ... need it more.”

He said he doubted that the Trump administration would ultimately pull the plug on new job-creating industrial investments, including a battery plant in North Carolina and a solar panel factory in Georgia.

“I believe the only way for presidents to lead America was to lead all of America,” Biden said. “And I believe the economy I'm leaving at the moment — and others could do better than I did, I'm not saying it was perfect — is the best economy, strongest economy in the world, and for all Americans, doing better.”

Final agenda: Although the president spent much of his speech looking back at his four years in office, White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients reminded everyone this week that the Biden administration still has more than a month to go — and an agenda it wants to accomplish.

In a memo Monday, Zients reportedly told White House staff that in its final 42 days, the administration plans to provide another round of student debt forgiveness, work toward a ceasefire in Gaza, provide more military aid to Ukraine, and push Congress to provide disaster relief. He also noted that the $2,000 cap on prescription drug costs will go into effect for all Medicare participants starting in January.

“There’s so much more we’re working on — we have announcements to come on everything from climate to conservation to AI [artificial intelligence] and more,” Zients said. “I know you and your teams are pushing forward on every issue, yard by yard. Thank you for making the most of this final 42-day sprint.”

Quote of the Day: Republicans Still Deciding on Their Budget Reconciliation Plan

“We have a menu of options. What we’re deciding right now is the sequence of how we run those plays. It’s really important. The House and the Senate have different calculations on how that’s done, but we all have exactly the same priorities — the incoming administration, the Senate Republicans and the House Republicans. … President-elect Trump and I will be talking about this in depth this weekend before the Army-Navy [college football] game. So we’re going to come up with a play call that we have consensus on and that will work for the American people. We’re going to achieve these objectives. We’re going to get this done, and stay tuned on the sequence. So we’ll get back to you on that.”

− House Speaker Mike Johnson, at a morning news conference, when asked whether it might be wiser for Republicans to kick off their 2025 legislative agenda with their tax cut plan instead of the potentially more difficult issues of immigration and border security, which could prove divisive and more challenging to pass.

Senate Republicans led by incoming Majority Leader John Thune are reportedly planning a budget reconciliation package that would include as much as $85 billion for border security along with energy and defense-related provisions. They would then address taxes in a separate, later bill. But GOP leaders have also faced some disagreement over the details of the plan, with some members pushing for a significantly broader package — and some key lawmakers indicating that, whatever makes it into the first bill, another immigration policy measure will still be necessary.

Republicans are set to have a 53-47 majority in the Senate and are looking to use the somewhat complicated reconciliation process to avoid the threat of a Democratic filibuster. House Republicans will have a very slim majority, and they have found it challenging in recent years to get their various factions to unite behind major agenda items. Trump’s backing for a legislative plan would likely help keep members in line.

More Americans Say Healthcare Coverage Is Government’s Responsibility: Gallup

Is it the responsibility of the federal government to make sure all Americans have healthcare coverage? Gallup pollsters found that 62% of U.S. adults now say yes, the highest percentage in more than a decade. The number has been climbing fairly steadily since reaching a low of 42% in 2013, during the problem-plagued rollout of the Affordable Care Act exchanges. However, it remains below the 69% high reached in 2006.

Americans are split on whether a government-run healthcare system would be preferrable, with 46% favoring the idea compared with 49% who support a system that relies on private insurance. “Democrats and Republicans hold opposite views of the best approach to providing healthcare -- 71% of Democrats favor a government-run system and 20% a private system, while 76% of Republicans favor private insurance and 21% a government-run system,” Gallup says. “Forty-seven percent of independents want a government system, and 49% a private one.”

As we mentioned last week, the same Gallup survey found that just 44% of U.S. adults now call the quality of American healthcare “excellent” (11%) or “good” (33%), down 10 percentage points since 2020. “Between 2001 and 2020, majorities ranging from 52% to 62% rated U.S. healthcare quality positively; now, 54% say it is only fair (38%) or poor (16%),” Gallup reports. Just 28% say healthcare coverage is excellent or good — and just 19% say they are satisfied with its cost.

Americans are happier with Affordable Care Act, though, with 54% now approving of the Obama-era law, near the 55% high set in April 2017 and November 2020. Nearly all Democrats (94%) and most independents (53%) approve of the law, while only 19% of Republicans do so — though that 19% approval is the highest since 2012.

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