With House Republicans on a six-week recess, it’s a good time to look back on the worst Republican-controlled Congress in history. Even more ominously, they have refused to cut spending by a cent and have actually increased the budget from record levels during their term. Clearly, they have no appetite to cut spending even if Donald Trump retakes the White House. Republicans should stop talking about controlling inflation, because it’s not happening.
Every Republican running for reelection is denouncing “Bidenflation” — household wealth measured in US dollars has fallen 25% since the pandemic — but they fail to mention the fact that rather than cutting back, many of them have actually increased their spending from pre-pandemic levels.
Republicans took the record spending standards that created crisis levels of debt and an inflationary bubble, and then raised them even higher.
Record inflation is happening because the Federal Reserve is printing money to pay off the debt. Interest on the debt is now averaging over $1 trillion per year, leading to record levels of bond auctions at ever higher interest rates to pay off the ballooning deficit. At current rates, we will be spending $3 trillion per year on interest on the debt by 2030, roughly the amount we project to raise from all income tax revenues. Without a promise of spending cuts, talk of controlling inflation is meaningless and disingenuous.
After the biggest spending spree and worst inflation year in American history, House Republicans came into power in 2023 with the authority to cut spending and repeal the Green New Deal. Conservatives were concerned that Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), known for giving Democrats everything they wanted on bills they had to pass, would squander their influence, even when Republicans held three House and Senate seats. They revolted to remove McCarthy from his position as Speaker, but were pressured to step down before completing his mandate. This led to the debt ceiling betrayal, with McCarthy giving Biden a blank check for the remainder of his presidency.
The result? Debt has increased by $3.5 trillion since May 2023, topping $35 trillion this week, but there has been no official recession.
The only silver lining of the debt ceiling bill is that it created a situation where if a budget is not enacted by April 2024, there will be an automatic $72 billion in non-defense discretionary spending cuts. In other words, Republicans didn’t have to fight for unrelated policy provisions to get spending cuts. They could have just passed a continuing resolution for FY2024 (a clean bill) and gotten the free spending cuts. Instead, in one major bill after another, new House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) gave Democrats everything they wanted and canceled the impending cuts that would have been free for him.
After selling out the budget bill, including the border issue, Johnson went on to give Democrats everything they wanted on the National Defense Authorization Act and the FISA reauthorization bill Biden requested. After Johnson gave Democrats everything they wanted on these important bills, what else could he do? He sold out the store. supplement A spending bill that didn’t need to pass. Johnson approved over $100 billion in foreign aid, mostly to Ukraine, but also to Israel and Hamas. Did he at least demand border security as the price of passing Democrat priorities? Of course not. there is nothing Instead.
Republicans took the record spending standards that created crisis levels of debt and an inflationary bubble, and then raised them even higher.
Apologists for Johnson, Trump and current Republicans argue that their record represents the best that a “narrow majority” can achieve.
Moving on to the FY 2025 appropriations bill, which was withdrawn from Congress after passing the House, last week the House voted on the Energy and Water Appropriations Bill. Increased $1 billion in spending cuts and a Home Office and Environment Bill that was just 0.2% cut from the highest spending levels ever recorded, which the Conservatives have tried to cut. A small and useless programinclude Distorting the market Green energy programs. In a series of votes, between 60 and 80 Republicans consistently voted against even these modest spending cuts.
It is clear that we will never have a large enough majority to actually cut a dime from the federal government, much less shrink government enough to hit the bull’s-eye of inflation. Take, for example, the arts and humanities. These are programs that Republicans have promised to cut since the 1994 Contract with America. But 68 Republicans I felt that cutting these programs was too drastic. Back to 2019 levels!
Republicans have never been more righteous than when they’re shut out of the White House. These bills are little programs that won’t go anywhere and no one cares about. If Republicans can’t muster 150+ votes to cut these programs, do you really think they’ll cut welfare programs and abolish entire agencies when they’re actually responsible for governing?
The Republican Party will not change because we have failed to change it. The list of Republicans who voted for all spending at all costs includes senators who were up for reelection but easily made it through the primaries, many of whom (unfortunately) had Trump’s backing. And let’s not forget that the Republicans in the Senate are even more liberal.
So meaningful spending cuts will be hard to pass, even through budget reconciliation, which is the only chance they have to pass legislation without a filibuster, but it’s unlikely Republicans will get more than 51 or 52 seats. There are easily 15 to 20 Republicans who would never support spending cuts. And they’re planning a series of tax cuts and military spending increases that, policy prudence aside, will only exacerbate debt-driven inflation.
It’s now understandable why the Republican Party removed all mention of the debt from its new platform. Maybe they should just be honest and remove it from their campaign rhetoric, too.
