House GOP Approves Economic Attack on Poor to Fund 'Big Payout' for Billionaires

In a party-line vote, House Republicans on Thursday approved a budget blueprint that sets the stage for the GOP to pass another round of tax cuts for the rich, paid for in part by slashing Medicaid, federal nutrition assistance, and other critical programs.

The final vote was 216 to 214, with two Republicans—Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Victoria Spartz of Indiana—and every Democrat opposing the measure, which now must be converted into legislation.

The budget reconciliation process that Republicans are using for their sweeping bill means it can pass with a simple majority in both chambers of Congress.

"Republicans are ramming through a budget that includes $880 billion in cuts to Medicaid and at least $230 billion in cuts to food assistance to pay for tax breaks for billionaires," Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) said in a statement Thursday. "These are the largest Medicaid and food assistance cuts in American history."

“Make no mistake: Republicans want to give away trillions of dollars to the richest people in our country like Elon Musk, and they want to pay for it by taking food away from hungry children and letting people die from a lack of healthcare coverage," Tlaib continued. "We must raise our voices and defeat this dangerous Republican budget."

"In unifying behind this budget resolution, congressional Republicans are telling us they are serious about their agenda to rob everyday Americans in order to deliver a big payout to the ultra-wealthy in tax cuts."

Passage of the blueprint came hours after Republican congressional leaders and President Donald Trump managed to win the support of GOP holdouts concerned that the forthcoming legislative package won't reduce spending enough to offset the massive cost of fresh tax cuts, which would largely benefit the rich.

During a press conference Thursday following the vote, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) signaled that they are unified behind the goal of cutting at least $1.5 trillion in federal spending over the next decade—an objective that Trump has endorsed.

"We have a lot of United States senators who believe that is a minimum," Thune said of the $1.5 trillion figure.

Sharon Parrott, president of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, said in a statement that "in this budget framework, there is no way to cut $1.5 trillion in spending while protecting health coverage through Medicaid and food assistance through [the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program]."

"This budget architecture was terrible a couple of months ago," Parrott added. "It is a far worse plan at a moment when the president's tariffs, chaotically crafted and applied, have caused business uncertainty to soar and raised the risk of a recession, higher unemployment, and surging prices."

In a post on his social media site, Trump congratulated House Republicans for approving the measure and claimed it would deliver "the Largest Tax and Regulation Cuts ever even contemplated."

An analysis released last week by the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation estimated that renewing soon-to-expire provisions of the 2017 Trump-GOP tax law would cost $5.5 trillion over the next decade. Republican lawmakers have also called for an additional $1.5 trillion in tax cuts, which would push the overall cost of the tax package to $7 trillion.

David Kass, executive director of Americans for Tax Fairness, said in a statement Thursday that "the country is rapidly undergoing an intensifying economic crisis created by Trump and congressional Republicans, and the only legislative solution they've put forward is to double down on tax cuts for billionaires while eliminating healthcare access and food assistance for millions of Americans."

Lisa Gilbert, co-president of the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, echoed that message, saying that "in unifying behind this budget resolution, congressional Republicans are telling us they are serious about their agenda to rob everyday Americans in order to deliver a big payout to the ultra-wealthy in tax cuts."

"As they now work to actually write the bill that they intend to push through via the reconciliation process, which will deplete funding for healthcare, nutrition, and other critical human needs in order to line the pockets of CEOs and billionaires, they should know we are also serious in our efforts to fight back," Gilbert added.