President Donald Trump wants to dump a double-whammy on House Republicans as soon as they return from vacation, and the GOP is not having it, reports NOTUS.
The White House prefers to move fast on bone-cutting budget reductions and send Congress legislation codifying the controversial DOGE cuts that are setting Republican town halls on fire (referred to as rescission). House Republicans speaking anonymously with NOTUS reporters, however, want him to ease the brakes.
“Trump is running out of political goodwill with members, and if he tries to codify the unpopular cuts and reconciliation at the same time, he might not get either done,” one member told NOTUS.
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A second GOP member advised NOTUS that the best tactical route for passing the cuts is to privately share them with Republican colleagues before pushing “a public, formal request.” That, said the source, would allow the GOP to add the rescission requests (cuts) in reconciliation and clandestinely count the savings toward the final cost of the bill.
This more down-low tactic for cutting $10 billion from public broadcasting, foreign aid and other initiatives would prevent Congress from having to hammer out two controversial pieces of legislation at the same time. It could also spare vulnerable Republicans in swingy districts from immediate voter backlash.
“We have had a hard enough time doing one thing at a time this Congress. I’m not sure we are ready to walk and chew gum at the same time,” a senior GOP aide told NOTUS.
The Democratic Party, meanwhile, will be spending the same upcoming recess harnessing public outcry over cuts and economic worries and hammering Republicans in their own districts at town halls. The Democratic National Committee announced a new set of town halls focused on the Republican-led budget bill, featuring high-profile Democrats like Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.)
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Read the full NOTUS story at this link.