A narrow victory in the U.S. House of Representatives late Tuesday on a new budget proposal that could lead to devastating cuts to Medicaid funding was pilloried on MSNBC on Wednesday morning.
With House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) urging his caucus to push through the bill — and only Rep. Tom Massie (R-KY) holding out — "Morning Joe" co-host Joe Scarborough claimed the budget plan will increase the national debt by $23 trillion dollars by handing the wealthy a tax cut and gutting Medicaid, among other programs.
The former GOP lawmaker turned MSNBC host said, "Think about this: that from the founding of our republic through 2001, it's the year I left Congress so I know, over those 220 years, the United States accumulated $5 trillion debt. In the last 20 years, $5 trillion over two centuries, over the last. 20 or so years, we've accumulated up to $36 trillion."
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"Now, the Congressional Budget Office says that if these Republicans pass what they're about to pass, and if they move forward with tax cuts and they move forward with massive spending increases in defense, and they move forward with all the things they're talking about. moving forward with the budget — let me get this number right — the budget is going to increase another $23 trillion over the next decade, " he elaborated.
"This is something I've been warning about my entire adult life. Let me tell you something, though: there are no warnings for this. We are in meltdown mode here," he added. "And they're sitting around talking about, you know, passing legislation that's going to increase the debt another $20 trillion over the next decade and they're talking about DOGE. It's smoke and mirrors."
You can watch below or at the link.