Donald Trump and his allies are floating the idea of major cuts to Medicaid and the food stamp program in order to offset some of the budget deficits created by their desired new round of tax cuts for the rich, reported The Washington Post on Monday.
The new tax cuts are a huge priority for Trump and his allies — in particular extending the provisions of a 2017 tax cut bill that are set to expire. The corporate tax cuts in that bill were made permanent, aside from some subsequent tweaks to corporate taxes made under the Biden administration, but the individual income tax cuts are set to run out at the end of next year.
Republicans and their strategists, according to the report, are discussing "new work requirements and spending caps for the programs, according to seven people familiar with the talks, many of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Those conversations have included some economic officials on Trump’s transition team, the people said."
However, these sources said the ideas are "preliminary" and Trump's allies are concerned about "the political downsides of such cuts, which would affect programs that provide support for at least 70 million low-income Americans."
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The previous Trump administration allowed states to add work requirements to Medicaid coverage in a series of pilot programs. Experts widely consider these experimental programs to be a failure, as they threw tens of thousands of low-income people off of health coverage without making any noticeable change to employment figures. The Biden administration later rescinded authorization for these programs.
Despite the track record, House Republicans again tried to force a nationwide inclusion of work requirements on these programs during a budget standoff in 2023, as a condition for authorizing a debt ceiling increase and preventing a default on U.S. credit. Ultimately, Republicans backed down from this and settled for more modest reforms.