Earlier this week, the Republican Study Committee, the largest GOP caucus in the House of Representatives, released its proposed budget for the coming fiscal year. It includes longtime conservative wish list items like raising the Social Security retirement age for younger Americans, reducing benefits for younger high-income earners, and converting Medicare into a voucher-style “premium support” program.
When it comes to Social Security and Medicare, Republicans just can’t help themselves. Even after years of attempted cuts have backfired, they continue to attempt to sabotage the popular entitlement programs — and in doing so sabotage themselves. The RSC, which counts Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., among its members alongside nearly 80% of House Republicans, insists these changes are necessary to save the programs. Not only is that false, but the RSC proposal is a massive political error, handing President Joe Biden a jewel of an issue to run on ahead of Election Day.
During Trump’s time in office, every single one of his budgets proposed cuts to Social Security and Medicare.
Better still for the president, the RSC’s proposal comes on the heels of former President Donald Trump saying in an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box” last week that “there is a lot you can do in terms of entitlements, in terms of cutting.” After Biden and his campaign pounced, the Trump team tried to backtrack. But Republicans heard the former president loud and clear: RSC Chair Kevin Hern told reporters Wednesday, “What you’re hearing President Trump say is exactly what we’re saying.”
That’s about par for the course when it comes to Trump. When he first ran for president, the then-long-shot candidate distinguished himself from the GOP field by promising to leave both programs alone. But during Trump’s time in office, every single one of his budgets proposed cuts to Social Security and Medicare.
Like Trump’s budget proposals, the RSC couches its changes in the…
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