Trump’s big, beautiful bills loses support

For the last few months, Speaker Johnson (R-LA) has been trying to get the framework passed for a spending bill that the GOP can ram through via reconciliation, which has been dubbed the “big, beautiful bill.”

Well, that bill just crashed and burned, and now Johnson is really staring down the barrel at a near-impossible task.

Running Into a Wall

Johnson’s self-imposed deadline for the bill was Memorial Day, but that now seems unlikely, and the signs have been screaming in neon for some time about this, yet Johnson seemed to think that when push came to shove, he would be able to get everyone to cave.

One of the big issues is changes to the Medicaid program, which many see as political suicide.

For instance, Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) stated, “I don’t want to be mean. And I think any time it looks like we’re actually hurting people, that’s gonna piss off the American population. And if you piss them off, they’re probably not going to vote for you.”

Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) added, “My colleagues, who do not want to address that, are burying their head in the sand and already trying to worry about elections next year, when the best way to win elections is to actually deliver.”

The Senate

The House was not the only problem, as several GOP Senators pushed back on the bill.

Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) said the bill would fail even if it worked its way through Congress because there was no way Trump would sign it as it currently reads.

Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) was also critical, stating, “The problem is, is it’s asking conservatives, like myself, to raise the debt ceiling 5 trillion dollars. That’s historic. No one’s ever raised the debt so that much. It will be a record for Congress to raise the debt 5 trillion dollars.

“But, also it indicates that this year the deficit will be over 2 trillion, but it means they’re anticipating close to 3 trillion for the next year. It’s really a slap in the face at those of us who are excited about Elon Musk and DOGE and all the cuts. Where are the cuts? If the cuts are real, why are we going to borrow five trillion? So what I proposed was this. I put forward a proposal and we voted on it to raise the debt ceiling for three months.”

Crash and Burn

As the bill was getting ready to be put on the floor, it seemed as though its failure was imminent, as the GOP only had one vote to give, and there were more than that promising to vote against it.

Rep. Roy stated, "Right now, the House proposal fails to meet the moment. It does not meaningfully change spending (Medicaid expansion to able bodied, [Inflation Reduction Act] subsidies). Plus many of the decent provisions and cuts, don’t begin until 2029 and beyond. That is swamp accounting to dodge real savings.”

Even though Johnson was flat-out being told he did not have the support, he told the media, "I think we're on schedule. I'm talking to everybody and I think we're gonna get this thing done on the schedule that we proposed.”

Once again, the GOP is its own worst enemy. As I have stated, I am all for trimming fraud and waste, but these programs are relied on by too many people and it seems like this is being rushed. I say leave the program, as is, right now, then get to work immediately on fixing this for next year’s budget rather than waiting until the last second, like they always do. And keep in mind, this is all about roughly $900 million, which is just shy of the amount that it would take to refit the “free” plane from Qatar to serve as Air Force One until Boeing delivers the plane. So, how about we forget about the free plane, pass the budget, and get work on exposing waste and fraud in the program so we have a real bill we can put on the floor next year.