Trump Privately Pushes Senators for ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’

Trump talked to the media after meeting with GOP senators.
Reuters
By Yuval Rosenberg

Good evening. The nation observed a day of mourning on Thursday, as former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral was held at the Washington National Cathedral. The country is also mourning the death and devastation of the Los Angeles fires, which show little signs of slowing and are set to be the costliest in U.S. history.

Congress reportedly might not consider new disaster aid funding until mid-March, when it again must pass a government funding bill. “You’ve got to wait until the disaster is over. It's clearly not yet, and you've got to give them time to do the estimate,” Republican House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole told Politico.

Here’s what else is happening.

Trump Privately Pushes Senators for ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’: Reports

President-elect Donald Trump emerged from a meeting with Senate Republicans Wednesday night insisting that, whether it’s in one bill or two, his agenda will get enacted — but his comments made clear that Republicans still haven’t settled on their strategy for getting it done.

“Whether it's one bill or two bills, it's going to get done one way or the other,” Trump told reporters, adding, “One bill, two bills, doesn't matter to me. They're going to work that out, but the end result is going to be the same.”

Trump reportedly wasn’t quite so indifferent in his meeting with GOP senators. While a number of lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune, reportedly argued in favor of two separate bills, Trump said he prefers the idea of a single bill — “one big, beautiful bill,” as he has called it — based on Speaker Mike Johnson’s view of what can more easily pass through the House.

Key Senate Republicans have argued that separating their legislative plans into two packages would set up a quick win on border and energy measures early in Trump’s coming term, but Johnson and other House Republicans have countered that one big bill would provide more leverage over potential holdouts and has the best chance of being approved by their narrow majority.

A single reconciliation bill would likely include immigration and energy provisions, an extension of the 2017 tax cuts, major spending cuts and, potentially, an increase in the debt limit.

Some senators have warned that approach would mean putting all their eggs in one extremely fragile basket. Yet Trump reportedly pushed back vigorously against those arguing for two bills, in particular Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. “Graham got into a long back-and-forth and the longer Graham talked, the more resolute Trump got,” one source said to be familiar with the discussion told The Hill. “He said doing two is a bad idea, it will decrease our leverage. Let’s do one.”

Johnson told Politico on Wednesday that Republicans would likely decide on their approach on Thursday. “We’re coordinating both chambers to align them and we’ll make those final decisions, I think, probably by tomorrow,” he said.

Trump is reportedly set to host some Republican governors at his Mar-a-Lago club this evening before meeting with House Republicans this weekend.

Musk Backs Off $2 Trillion Target for DOGE Spending Cuts

Elon Musk has made some big claims about the potential savings to be won by the efficiency effort he is leading under the incoming Trump administration, but on Thursday he admitted that the $2 trillion per year cost-cutting target he has cited in the past may be unreachable.

In an interview with the political consultant Mark Penn, Musk was asked if $2 trillion in cuts and savings seems realistic now that he has had some time to look more carefully at the numbers. “I think we’ll try for $2 trillion. I think that’s the best-case outcome,” Musk replied. “But I do think that you kind of have to have some overage. I think if we try for $2 trillion, we’ve got a good shot at getting one.”

Critics have expressed considerable skepticism about the ability of Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, to reduce the size and scope of the federal government. The effort, which is also being led by entrepreneur and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, is not really a federal department as the name implies, and it has no power to affect change as currently structured unless Congress grants it some kind of legal authority or acts on its recommendations.

Perhaps more problematic, the goal of cutting $2 trillion from an annual budget exceeding $6 trillion doesn’t seem viable, regardless of whether it is desirable. Nearly 70% of that spending is mandatory, going toward programs like Social Security and Medicare, leaving less than $2 trillion in discretionary spending, about half of which is for defense and national security. While some politicians love to talk about massive savings to be had by eliminating waste, fraud and abuse, even the most ambitious cost-cutters would have trouble getting anywhere near $2 trillion in the annual budget.

Still, Musk couldn’t resist the brash rhetoric of cost-cutting even as he admitted his audacious goal is probably too big. “In terms of saving money in the government, well, as you know, it’s a very target-rich environment for saving money,” Musk said, without providing much by way of details. “It was like, ‘Where will you find places to save money?’ I’m like, ‘It’s like being in a room full of targets. You could close your eyes, and you can’t miss.’”

Chart of the Day: Getting SALTy

Republicans are expected to include an increase in the state and local tax deduction in the tax bill they plan to write in the coming months, and Trump officials are expected to discuss the increase with GOP lawmakers from New York, New Jersey and California at a meeting at President-elect Donald Trump’s home in Florida this weekend. One option that will reportedly be discussed is doubling the SALT deduction from $10,000 to $20,000, a policy change intended to win the support of lawmakers from high-tax states for the tax package.

According to Howard Gleckman of the Urban-Brookins Tax Policy Center, raising the SALT cap to $20,000 would cost the federal government about $225 billion in lost revenue over 10 years, with most of the benefits going to households earning $200,000 or more.

“On average, households making $200,000 or less would see no change in their after-tax incomes if Congress increases the cap to $20,000. For example, 99.4 percent of middle-income households would get no tax cut at all,” Gleckman writes. “By contrast, those making between about $430,000 and $1 million (the highest-income 95-99 percent of households) would get a tax cut averaging nearly $1,400, or about 0.3 percent of their after-tax income. The nearly-60 percent of that group who would get some tax cut would see their taxes decline by an average of about $2,300.”

Quote of the Day

“This appointment is an affront to the principles of public health, the tireless dedication of medical professionals, and the trust that millions of Americans place in the health care system. RFK Jr. has a well-documented history of spreading dangerous disinformation on vaccines and public health interventions, leaving vulnerable communities unprotected and placing millions of lives at risk. His appointment is a direct threat to the safety of our patients and the public at large.”

− Part of an open letter to members of the Senate warning that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would be “dangerous” if confirmed as president-elect Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.

The letter, written by the Committee to Protect Health Care and signed by more than 15,000 doctors, goes on to warn about Kennedy’s record and potential harm: “RFK Jr. lacks any credible experience in health care or medicine. He has vowed to gut the staff, funding, and resources of federal health agencies responsible for protecting public health, effectively dismantling the public health infrastructure we depend on to prevent disease and improve health outcomes. RFK Jr.'s rhetoric and actions endanger the health of millions, especially children, by undermining trust in essential health care. His appointment threatens to reverse decades of progress in improving health outcomes for patients across the country and the world. This is not leadership – it's sabotage.”

Send your feedback to yrosenberg@thefiscaltimes.com.

Fiscal News Roundup

Views and Analysis