Speaker Johnson says big spending cuts are coming under Trump — expert has big doubts

Republicans are fantasizing about a new era of budget cuts under a new Donald Trump presidency.

Speaking to the Hudson Institute, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) argued that the largest security threat facing the U.S. is the national debt.

"To meet our defense needs, Congress has to work to grow our economy and significantly reduce our overall spending. And I can promise you, come 2025, spending reform will become a top priority for our new Republican majority," the current speaker told the group.

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Johnson claimed that the national security is at the top of the list of where funds must be spent.

Johnson didn't go into details, but the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 — a conservative policy platform that Trump has sought to distance himself from, despite many political ties to its authors — calls for massive cuts to Medicaid.

It would also cut the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) that American soldiers use when stationed at various places around the world. As Raw Story reported on July 4th, the plan calls for further privatization of veteran healthcare.

When Punchbowl News reporter Jake Sherman saw the clip of Johnson's pledge, he expressed serious doubts.

"If past is precedent," wrote Sherman, "if Donald Trump is president, he won't be very interested in these conversations."

During his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump made a notorious boast in an interview with CBS' Norah O'Donnell,

“I’m the king of debt," Trump said. "I’m great with debt. Nobody knows debt better than me. I’ve made a fortune by using debt, and if things don’t work out, I renegotiate the debt. I mean, that’s a smart thing, not a stupid thing.”

See Johnson's comments below or at the link here.