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Senate Republicans Will Force 'Major' Changes In House GOP Budget

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was reminded how small his House majority is when, on Tuesday, February 25, a spending bill narrowly passed in a 217-215 vote. The bill didn't receive any Democratic votes at all, but only one Republican, Rep. Thomas Massey of Kentucky, voted "no."

Had there been a few more GOP defections, the bill would not have passed. And now, according to Politico, the bill faces another hurdle: Senate Republicans.

In an article published on February 26, Politico reporters Jordain Carney, Katherine Tully-McManus and Benjamin Guggenheim explain, "Despite a razor-thin 217-215 House vote Tuesday, GOP senators indicated Wednesday they would not accept Speaker Mike Johnson's fiscal framework as-is — heralding a rough road for President Donald Trump's legislative agenda on Capitol Hill.That's not to say they want to start from scratch: Most Senate Republicans said Wednesday that they were prepared to switch to the House's one-bill approach after spending more than two months pushing a competing two-bill plan. But they want major, contentious changes to policy choices embedded in the House plan."

According to a Politico source, conservative Sen. Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told senators "that there will need to be changes to the House budget and that there will be an informal meeting next week to start trying to reconcile the two sides."

Thune, the Politico journalists report, described the bill passed in the House as "a first step in what will be a long process, and certainly not an easy one."

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) said of the bill, "It doesn't fit the president's plan in its current form, so we would have to make some changes."

Carney, Tully-McManus, and Guggenheim note, "Immediately after the House approved its plan Tuesday, Thune called for any Republican tax bill to include a permanent extension of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. That was an implicit criticism of the House budget blueprint, which allows for $4.5 trillion in net tax cuts — which tax writers in both chambers say won't be enough to allow for TCJA permanency along with Trump's other tax priorities."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

New GOP Senate Leader Is Ex-Lobbyist Who Aims To Slash Social Security

Senate Republicans on Wednesday elected Sen. John Thune of South Dakota—a former corporate lobbyist and close ally of Sen. Mitch McConnell—as the leader of their conference for the upcoming term, when the GOP will have a 53-seat majority.

Republican lawmakers chose Thune over Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who was favored by allies of President-elect Donald Trump.

"Senators have received angry phone calls from constituents demanding to know how their representatives plan to vote, following MAGA world's embrace of Scott," The Washington Post reported. The leadership election was conducted via secret ballot.

In a statement Wednesday, Thune said he is "extremely honored to have earned the support" of the Senate GOP conference and stressed that "this Republican team is united behind President Trump's agenda."

"Our work starts today," Thune added.

Before winning election to the Senate in 2004, Thune worked as a lobbyist for several sectors including the railroad industry. The Lever reported last year that as part of his lobbying work for the Dakota, Minnesota, and Eastern (DM&E) Railroad, Thune "helped the company procure a $230 million loan from the Federal Railroad Administration."

"In 2015, Thune reprised his advocacy for the rail industry, leading an effort to repeal an Obama administration regulation requiring improved, electronic braking systems on some hazmat trains," the outlet added. "The following year, he received the first-ever 'Railroad Achievement Award' presented by the Association of American Railroads, the industry's main lobbying group."

Thune is also "one of the biggest recipients of oil and gas money in Congress," the youth-led Sunrise Movement noted Wednesday following his election as leader of the incoming GOP Senate.

Over the course of his Senate career, Thune has received more than $1.16 million in campaign donations from the fossil fuel industry, according to the campaign finance watchdog OpenSecrets.

Thune's top contributor between 2019 and 2024 was the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the right-wing pro-Israel lobbying group.

"Thune has called for taking the debt limit hostage to force cuts to Social Security."

Thune will take the reins of the Senate GOP conference as the party readies another round of tax cuts for the rich and large corporations—one of Trump's top priorities. Thune is a leading advocate of repealing the estate tax, a move that would benefit a small number of wealthy Americans.

Congress is also barreling toward another potentially damaging fight over the debt ceiling, which is set to be reinstated on January 2, 2025.

Thune has previously expressed support for leveraging the debt limit—and the threat of a catastrophic default—to secure steep cuts to federal spending and possible changes to Social Security such as raising the retirement age, which would slash benefits across the board. Social Security Works, a progressive advocacy group, voiced alarm over Thune's debt ceiling stance following his election as Senate Republican leader on Wednesday.

"Thune has called for taking the debt limit hostage to force cuts to Social Security," Nancy Altman, the group's president, said in a statement.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Top Senate Republican: Slash Social Security Or We'll Wreck US Economy

Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the number two Republican in the U.S. Senate, said on Tuesday that the GOP plans to use the debt ceiling as leverage to make cuts to Social Security and other social safety net programs.

"There's a set of solutions there that we really need to take on if we're going to get serious about making these programs sustainable and getting this debt bomb at a manageable level before it's too late," Thune said in an interview with Bloomberg News, adding that raising the retirement age is one of the solutions Republicans want to explore.

Playing politics with the debt ceiling could have disastrous consequences for the American economy, observers say.

If the debt ceiling is reached — which the Treasury Department says will happen some time in 2023 — the United States will be unable to pay bills for spending already authorized by Congress.

"Failure to set the debt ceiling at the level necessary to meet borrowing needs could jeopardize the full faith and credit of the United States by preventing the Treasury from paying the government's bills," the House Budget Committee said in an explainer posted to its website.

Yet Republicans are dangling the threat of not raising the debt ceiling in order to make cuts to Social Security, one of the most popular social safety net programs.

The program has near universal support, according to an AARP poll from 2020. Ninety-six percent of voters said Social Security is "either the most important government program or an important one." What's more, voters do not want to see the program cut, with 89 percent telling AARP that "it would be unfair to people who are retired or near retirement to make major changes to Social Security that would affect them."

Republicans have floated multiple ideas for making cuts to the program, including raising the retirement age from 65 to 70 and forcing Congress to reauthorize spending and put the program at risk every year.

It's not the first time Republicans have held the debt ceiling hostage in an effort to extract concessions from Democrats.

In 2011, after the GOP took control of the House, Republicans refused to raise the debt ceiling unless then-President Barack Obama agreed to significant spending cuts to the federal budget.

Eventually, Republicans agreed to raise the debt ceiling after Democrats compromised, allowing caps on discretionary spending.

However, the protracted battle led the credit rating agency S&P to downgrade the United States' credit rating to its current AA+ from its earlier AAA rating.

Republicans haven't said how far they're willing to go this time with the debt ceiling.

Thune told Bloomberg, however, that defaulting is "not an option."

Democrats criticized Thune's plan. Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota called it "appalling but not surprising."

"Republicans will hold our entire economy hostage in their crusade against Medicare and Social Security," Smith tweeted.

Does the Republican Party call for these demands when a Republican is president?

Of course not. Republican Senate leaders clearly understand that defaulting on the national debt under a Republican president would be disastrous for their electoral hopes in future elections. This is why Republicans never pressed these outlandish threats while former President Trump was in office. During his chaotic tenure, “…a majority of Senate Republicans voted to raise or suspend the debt limit three times as Trump added nearly $8 trillion to the national debt.” Republicans only care about the debt ceiling when Democrats are in charge.

Has the Republican Party attempted to hold Social Security and other social safety nets hostage in the past?

Yes, Republicans made very similar threats while President Obama was in office, proving that the Republican Party is fine with potentially collapsing the United States economy if a Democrat will take the blame. In 2011, the United States was within 72 hours of defaulting after Republicans demanded spending cuts. Even after the eventual Budget Control Act of 2011 was signed into law, “…markets plummeted, interest rates increased, and the country’s borrowing costs went up by $1.3 billion.” In 2013, Republicans tried to run the same playbook, but Obama refused to negotiate spending cuts into the deal. Obama’s standing up to the Republicans prompted the GOP to accept a clean increase in the debt limit in years since, saving the economy.

What happens if the debt ceiling defaults?

Unfortunately, if the debt limit is exceeded, “…the Treasury can't sell any more bonds and other securities to pay off the debt from previous deficits. Put simply: it can't get cash to pay off bills the government has already accumulated.” This outcome would result in a catastrophe for the United States economy. Some potential outcomes include “disastrous economic fallout including higher interest rates, millions of job losses, and a major hit to the country’s GDP.”

Reprinted with permission from American Independent.

Top Senate Leaders See Bipartisan Support To Pass Gay Marriage Bill

By Moira Warburton

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Top Senate Democrats and Republicans said on Wednesday they may have the votes to pass a bill protecting same-sex marriage rights nationwide, the day after the measure passed the House of Representatives with a bipartisan majority.

The measure, intended to head off any Supreme Court effort to roll back gay marriage rights, passed the House on Tuesday with all Democrats and 47 Republican representatives - just over a fifth of their caucus - voting in favor.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday said he was "really impressed by how much bipartisan support it got in the House."

When the Supreme Court last month struck down its landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling protecting the right to abortion, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that the court should also reconsider its past rulings that guaranteed access to contraception and the right to gay marriage because they relied on the same legal arguments as Roe.

Under Senate rules, Schumer would need at least 10 Republicans in favor to pass the bill in the 50-50 Senate.

Senator John Thune, the chamber’s No. 2 Republican, said he believed a bill codifying gay marriage could receive enough Republican support to pass.

"I wouldn’t be surprised. We haven't assessed that at all, yet," he told reporters when asked if 10 Republicans could back such legislation. "But as a general matter, I think that is something people in the country have come to accept."

Republican Senator Ted Cruz said on Saturday that the Supreme Court was "clearly wrong" in establishing a federal right to gay marriage. Senator Lindsey Graham said he would not support a bill codifying same sex marriage.

Several other Republicans have said they could support the bill. Senator Susan Collins co-sponsored a Senate version of the House bill. Senator Thom Tillis told CNN on Wednesday that he would "probably" vote in favor.

(Reporting by Moira Warburton, additional reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Scott Malone and Howard Goller)

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Smart. Sharp. Funny. Fearless

Senate Republicans Will Force 'Major' Changes In House GOP Budget

Does the Republican Party call for these demands when a Republican is president?

Has the Republican Party attempted to hold Social Security and other social safety nets hostage in the past?

What happens if the debt ceiling defaults?

Top Senate Leaders See Bipartisan Support To Pass Gay Marriage Bill

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