On Friday, Politico wrote that Republicans are gearing up for a fight over Trump's new $4.6 trillion tax cut.
Politico reported in 2018 that their analysis put Trump's tax cuts at a $2.3 trillion addition to the deficit.
The Center of Budget and Policy Priorities revealed in June that the 2017 tax cut passed by Trump and the GOP "skewed to the rich, expensive, and failed to deliver on its promises." At the time, Trump swore it would “very conservatively” lead to a $4,000 boost in household income. Anyone earning under $114,000 a year saw no change, Patrick Kennedy and his co-authors wrote in "The Efficiency-Equity Tradeoff of the Corporate Income Tax: Evidence from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,” on Nov. 14, 2023.
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House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington (R-TX) is demanding that the tax cut not add to the deficit, requiring the bill to make serious government cuts to offset the funds.
Politico cited Elon Musk as the possible savior. Trump intends to create a new government bureaucracy to eliminate government bureaucracy. The yet-to-be-created Department of Government Efficiency aims to seek out scores of government staff it can fire to save money.
Washington-based economist Brian Riedl told Fortune last week, “If you eliminate 25% of all federal jobs, you would save roughly 1% of federal spending. I don’t think it’s remotely workable to reduce the federal workforce by 20%, much less the 75% that Vivek Ramaswamy promises."
The U.S. has about 2 million civilian employees working across U.S. states, said a 2024 Congressional Research Service report.
"The debate, which could have ramifications for not just taxes but a host of other policies, will likely spool out over the coming months. Republicans will have to resolve their differences to unlock the arcane 'reconciliation' process they intend to use," said the Politico report. "It would let them sidestep a filibuster by Senate Democrats and muscle through changes to taxes and, they hope, immigration and energy too."
"That's going to be the biggest challenge for the conference," confessed Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL), who serves on Ways and Means.
"Under no circumstances should we just blindly say, 'Here's the policy,' without regard to the impact on the deficit," said Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX).
