Trump budget chief Russ Vought proclaimed that there were no “downsides” to the “big, beautiful bill” in a Fox Business appearance Monday, the latest in a series of praises for the GOP’s landmark piece of legislation.
“It is a home run. There’s like, no downside to this bill. This is not one where you have to say pros and cons. It’s all good,” Vought said on Larry Kudlow’s show.
Vought, the director of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, was among the key figures who pushed the megabill over the finish line, persuading fiscal hawks in the House Freedom Caucus to swallow their discontent over its cost, Politico reported.
The sprawling legislation package makes permanent many of the tax cuts Republicans passed during Trump’s first term and includes new deductions and exemptions for seniors and tipped workers. It includes some $170 billion in funding for immigration enforcement and mass deportations.
The bill also has significant cuts to Medicaid, food stamps, and other welfare programs. Democrats have assailed it as being a wealth transfer to rich Americans, who stand to benefit most from its tax breaks.
All of this is projected to be expensive. The conservative Cato Institute estimated that the bill would add to the national debt by $6 trillion, while the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office put that figure at $3.4 trillion.
To Vought, the bill is “all good.”
“That is the story we’re going to continue to explain to people as we focus in on each aspect of the bill,” he said.
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