House Republicans figuring out how to pay for Donald Trump's "big, beautiful" spending bill are in a bind over whether the president will flip-flop on cutting entitlements, according to The New York Times.
So far, Trump has repeatedly claimed, “We’re not cutting Medicaid, we’re not cutting Medicare, and we’re not cutting Social Security."
He told NBC News last weekend that he would veto the bill “if they were cutting” Medicaid. “But they’re not cutting it. They’re looking at fraud, waste and abuse. And nobody minds that.”
Meddling with entitlements is considered the untouchable "third rail" of politics, but Republican lawmakers know from experience that Trump is liable to change course in an instant.
EXCLUSIVE: Breastfeeding mom of US citizen sues Kristi Noem after being grabbed by ICE
"Mr. Trump is well known for abruptly changing his mind on major issues once his party has staked out a position, leaving Republican leaders and their rank-and-file members uncertain of where he might end up and whether they could find themselves locked into an untenable political position," The Times reported. "They are keenly aware of the potential political blowback that could come from slashing the government program that provides health coverage to tens of millions of Americans."
On another major issue to pay for the bill, hiking taxes on the wealthiest Americans, Trump posted ambiguously to social media Friday that "even a ‘TINY’ tax increase for the RICH” would give Democrats ammunition to use in the upcoming midterm elections. “In any event, Republicans should probably not do it, but I’m OK if they do!!!”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has vowed to pass the spending bill by the July 4 deadline, called the balancing act, "a sensitive thing."
He told reporters Thursday, “Look, our true and honest intention is to ensure that every Medicaid beneficiary who is in that traditional community of folks — you’re talking about young pregnant mothers and young single mothers and the elderly and disabled — those folks are covered, and no one loses their coverage.”