House Republicans will block key funding and tax cuts bills and negotiate more Sunday.
Scott Simon, host:
Calling it a big, beautiful bill, but President Trump’s fellow Republicans blocked it in the House yesterday. Ron Elving from NPR is now joining us. Ron, thank you for being with us.
Ron Elving, byline: It’s good to be with you, Scott.
Simon: The President said online to stop talking and get it done. what happened?
Erving: At least that wasn’t the case yesterday. A big bill, which includes many of Trump’s domestic agenda, failed on the committee. The four Republicans sided with voting for all Democrats on the committee. Now these four voted that way, but not for the same reasons Democrats did. Democrats said the bill was cut too much from Medicaid and other programs, as well as health and education. Four Republicans said the bill has not been cut sufficiently and overall it adds too many ways to deficits and national debt. And another $3.7 trillion in a decade would be the result of this big, beautiful bill, according to the independent joint tax committee. Currently, there is a considerable group of Republicans who are arrested and both rooms say they will stand up to Trump in this one room. They didn’t come to Washington to sign off for more deficit spending.
Simon: Is this bill suspended? So, did Moody’s vote yesterday to strip the US from its AAA rating?
Elving: That certainly seems to be the case in terms of timing, but the other two major rating agencies had already downgraded based on US debt and future deficits. And it was a long time that all of this was made, Scott. One budget cycle or even four or ten did not accumulate 36 trillion citizen debt. If Ronald Reagan returned to his first year as president, government bonds would have been about a trillion. But then, in our major political parties, past dislikes for the large budget deficits of year-to-year budgets have weakened or even disappeared each year. Therefore, citizen debt tripled in the 1980s. It took off again in the early 2000s. In both cases, significant tax cuts were not consistent by expending restraints. There was a war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Recently, there have been revenue losses due to COVID, post-Covid stimuli, and tax cuts.
Simon: President Trump ended yesterday through the Persian Gulf countries, and announced many business deals, as well as openly ties with the new Israeli and Syrian governments, led by men he had hoped to be terrorists a few weeks ago. The president said he wanted to reach an agreement with Iran. Ron, what stood out to you?
Erving: Trump says he’s bringing the deal back to the US, which means trillions of investment dollars here. There’s no clarity about those details or whether they’re all new deals, but everyone is getting points. This is a transaction-oriented president. He likes to trade, and the Persian Gulf royals speak this language very well.
In Iran, Trump claimed that some kind of deal could be ongoing, but he added that he would need to either immediately trade or cite “something bad is going to happen.” It’s a bit like the threat of fire and anger towards North Korea eight years ago. Incidentally, as another deal has attracted a lot of attention, Qatari’s ruling family provided Trump with a brand new aircraft to be used as a new air force, and donated to the Trump Library after his term. Trump said he tends to accept the gift and he would become a fool to reject it.
Simon: He condemned what was called the interventionist foreign policy of the previous administration. This was once a Liberal Democrat debate.
Erving: Yes, I did. The slogan of Democrat George McGovern during the 1972 presidential campaign was quoted as “Come Home, America.” For a long time, it has been a central part of populist beliefs and questioned foreign commitments, and populists have been important at various times in both our major political parties. And you certainly don’t have to be an isolationist to wonder what the US has gained from some of its overseas adventures – Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan.
Simon: The revelation continues from a book detailing what they say. I feel there’s a need to dull it. Could the powerful Democrats and White House staff not be able to stay in the world’s most powerful office for a man who decided he could not fulfill his oath so that he could elect a successor?
Elving: The reports from these books expand on what was apparent even a year ago. Biden was not the man he was. So he could not fulfill his oath? We probably never know. However, these reporters argue that Biden and those around him think of him and that they can continue to control his decline and his oath obligations and public perceptions of it. They thought he could protect him, acquire another term, and thus manage inheritance.
Simon: Ron Elving from NPR. As always, thank you for being with us.
Erving: Thank you, Scott.
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