Leader Schumer Floor Remarks Denouncing The Trump Administration’s Budget, Which Axes Vital Programs To Give Tax Breaks To Billionaires

Washington, D.C. – Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor to denounce the budget proposed by the Trump administration. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

A few months into Donald Trump’s second term, Americans are getting a clear look at what Trump 2.0 is all about.

Last week, Americans got a good look at Trump 2.0 when the White House released its so-called “skinny” budget.

Donald Trump’s days of pretending to be a populist are over—his budget is an all-out assault on health care, education, public safety, programs that help small business. They want to axe domestic programs that help hundreds of millions of people by nearly a quarter. It’s radical to its rotten core.

The budget is proof positive that the emperor has no clothes: Donald Trump is a con man who does not care one iota about the struggles of everyday Americas. He’d rather listen to his billionaire buddies than to the American people in terms of what the country needs.

But few things crystalize Trump 2.0 as much as Republicans’ signature bill—a massive tax break for billionaires, financed by the biggest cuts to Medicaid ever.

For months, Republicans have tried to muddle their way forward on their agenda with magic talk totally severed from reality.

Republicans say they want trillions in tax giveaways for the wealthy, trillions in spending cuts—but somehow claim these drastic changes won’t hurt average Americans. “Cut Medicaid,” they say, “but nobody will lose benefits!” That is totally illogical. Even the worst studies that I have seen show that the percentage of “waste, fraud, and abuse” is much, much less than the $880 billion they say they’re going to cut. They really want to slash Medicaid to the bone. Waste is something of a pretext for them.

Reality is now coming back to bite our Republican colleagues.  In the House, Republicans are at total loggerheads about how to move forward.

Now, mind you, there is zero disagreement among Republicans when it comes to the big goal: massive tax giveaways for the wealthy.

They agree on axing popular programs like Medicaid, like Social Security, like veterans.

What Republicans disagree on is which is the better way to screw Americans over. That's what they disagree on. That's what they're fighting about, but not on the goals which are pernicious.

Why do Republicans face such a conundrum, where they are so at odds with one another? Simple answer: because their agenda is so unpopular with the American people, and neither chamber – and no Republican Senator – wants to be left holding this hot potato.

The backlash Republicans are getting from the public – whether it’s at town halls, or in the streets, or through dismal polling data – should serve as a warning to our colleague on the other side: if they proceed with their agenda, the political outcry will be enormous.

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