WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump’s first budget proposal got an icy reception on Capitol Hill Tuesday, and that was just from the Republicans.
Longtime GOP Rep. Hal Rogers of Kentucky declared proposed cuts to safety net and environmental proposals “draconian.”
“I don’t think the president’s budget is going anywhere,” said Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, asked if he’s concerned about the message sent by slashing the Medicaid program for the poor and disabled.
GOP Rep. Mark Sanford of South Carolina questioned the rosy economic projections that allow the budget to balance over a decade even without touching Social Security or Medicare.
“Part of what’s going on here is supposedly you can put these different pieces of the puzzle together in a way that you don’t touch entitlements, but the reality is you can’t,” Sanford said. “So it creates a lie that we all then either address or don’t address, but it makes for a make-believe debate that I find frustrating.”