Republican lawmakers are reportedly going "nuclear" to pass Donald Trump's so-called "big, beautiful" bill.
U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) sounded the alarm on Sunday, according to Igor Bobic, senior politics reporter at HuffPost. He posted what was happening as senators fight over the bill while it careens toward final passage.
It started with Bobic reporting, "Thune is raising a budget point of order that would allow the use of current policy in reconciliation." According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, such a move would be "dangerous."
"Adopting a current policy baseline in reconciliation would be a dangerous and reckless move, especially given our near-record debt, exploding interest costs, and out-of-control borrowing trajectory," according to the group. "Doing so would be the first time Congress has ever used a current policy baseline for reconciliation and would potentially paper over $4 to $5 trillion of additional new borrowing over the next decade."
The "current law baseline," which reflects the existing legal framework, is usually used in the reconciliation process.
Bobic went on to report, "[Democratic Senator Chuck] Schumer says Dems will raise four parliamentary inquiries to fight the GOP's 'fake math and accounting gimmicks that hide the true cost of their bill'."
"Schumer asks the presiding officer, who is Sen. Moreno at this hour, if current policy has ever been used in reconciliation before 'No,' Moreno says," the reporter wrote.
Bobic also quoted Sen. Patty Murray on the use of current policy: "If this happens, we will all laugh you out of the room because we've never seen anything like this. We will not let anyone forget you're trashing the rules in order to pass this egregious bill."
Wyden is the one who reportedly said "Rs are going nuclear on filibuster."
"Instead of pressing a big nuclear button right at the beginning of the Congress, Republicans decided that they'd hide behind a cloak of Senate procedure and go nuclear for every individual bill they want to pass on party lines," Wyden said.
The reporter also quoted Budget Chair Lindsey Graham, who said, "I'm not the first chairman to change the baseline for different reasons," and cited "actions by former chairs Kent Conrad on the farm bill and Bernie Sanders on Head Start."