Congressional Budget Office warns 'Big, Wonderful Bill" would increase the deficit $3.8 trillion as divided Republicans push to bring it to the floor

Mike Johnson and his team continue their race against the clock to pass Donald Trump's "Great, Wonderful" bill as quickly as possible while ignoring obstacles standing in the way. As if it were not enough to be forced into an exercise of contortionism to manage to overcome the opposition of the hawks of the Freedom Caucus for what they consider insufficient cuts with the pressure of moderate Republicans demanding a tax cut, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) warned that, as currently drafted, the bill would increase the deficit by $3.8 trillion over the next few years.

In response to the Democratic caucus' request, the CBO released its estimates of the impact of the text as it is currently written, not including possible modifications that could be triggered by Johnson's agreements with the GOP wings.

Spending cut by nearly a trillion ($1 trillion) in Medicaid and SNAP

According to the agency's analysis, the "Big, Wonderful Bill" would result in "an increase in the federal deficit of $3.8 trillion attributable to tax changes, including expanded provisions of the 2017 tax law, including revenue and refundable appropriations outlays."

In addition, the rule provides for "$698 billion less in federal subsidies due to changes in the Medicaid program" and a cut also of 267.billion in federal spending for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Both impacts were harshly criticized by Democrats, who charge that the only beneficiaries of the bill's passage would be the wealthy while the poor would be penalized.

Democrats criticize Republican haste despite their lack of agreement

Members of the Blue Party also criticized the hours at which the Rules Committee was convened to advance the processing of the rule and the rush to bring it to the floor, despite ongoing divisions between within GOP factions that have yet to reach agreement ensuring the bill’s passage. Representative Mary Gay Scanlon remarked:

"It’s a bill for which there’s still no agreement to guarantee its passage. So after months of debate and deliberation in the Republican caucus, certainly not bipartisan debate with Democrats, House Republicans still don’t have an agreement. What have you been doing all this time?” she said, saying that Republicans “haven’t even drafted or shared some of the most critical parts of the bill."

Johnson, contortions between moderates and Freedom Caucus

On the Republican side, following Trump's meeting with conservative lawmakers, Speaker Johnson is close to closing a deal with moderate Republicans from Democratic-run states on increasing federal and local deductions on taxes (SALT). On the other hand, the Freedom Caucus has yet to secure its backing for the rule to wait to agree to tougher cuts in Medicaid and the New Green Deal.