BURSTPresident Trump late Sunday cautioned Republican lawmakers against going "too crazy" with cost-cutting efforts as fiscal hawks push for spending cuts in the massive reconciliation package making its way through Congress.
"For all cost cutting Republicans, of which I am one, REMEMBER, you still have to get reelected. Don’t go too crazy!" Trump posted on Truth Social.
Trump argued the bill would make up for the lack of deficit reduction efforts with significant economic growth.
The Senate is plowing ahead with efforts to pass the massive tax and spending bill, which contains key pieces of President Trump’s agenda, including an extension of the 2017 tax cuts and funding for border security.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said in a new analysis over the weekend that the tweaked Senate version of the bill would increase the deficit by roughly $3.3 trillion over the next decade. The office had previously estimated the version of the bill passed in the House would add about $2.4 trillion to the deficit over the next 10 years.
Some Republicans have expressed reservations about the bill’s impact on the national debt and over Medicaid provisions, which are intended as cost-cutting measures.
A handful of GOP lawmakers in the House have also raised concerns that the legislation doesn't do enough to cut federal spending, though many of those members either voted for the bill or voted "present" when it passed the House.
Republicans hoping to pass the bill and send it to Trump's desk by July 4 have narrow majorities in the Senate and House.