House Democrats and Republicans are campaigning on a GOP budget resolution, as conservative lawmakers accuse Democrats of wanting tax hikes and liberal members claim the GOP will undo Medicaid benefits.
The Republican-led budget blueprint was adopted along party lines on Thursday in the first step for lawmakers to write and pass marquee legislation for President Donald Trump’s second-term agenda, which includes extending tax cuts and spending on immigration enforcement.
Within 24 hours, both parties increased their messaging, hammering each other over the budget vote as they head into a two-week spring recess, during which lawmakers will be back in their districts and hearing from constituents on the latest news from Washington.
The absence of a single Democratic vote for the budget resolution opened the door for the National Republican Congressional Committee to launch digital advertising campaigns on Friday. The ads target vulnerable House Democrats for their “vote to raise taxes” — the provisions in the budget resolution will give Republicans the tools to renew the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which expires at the end of the year.
The ad states that Democratic lawmakers voting against the budget resolution means they support “slashing the child tax credit in half” and “making families pay thousands more.”
“Out of touch Democrat George Whitesides just screwed over the people of California by voting for higher taxes,” NRCC spokesman Christian Martinez said in a statement for the ad targeting Rep. George Whitesides (D-CA), who represents California’s 27th District. “Whitesides is hell-bent on pushing a radical agenda, no matter the cost to working Californians.”
Ads were launched against 25 House Democrats, including Reps. Josh Harder (D-CA), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA), Derek Tran (D-CA), Dave Min (D-CA), Adam Gray (D-CA), Laura Gillen (D-NY), Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), Jared Golden (D-ME), and Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-MI).
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, House Democrats’ campaign arm, said the budget is “exhibit A of their failure to make life affordable for Americans.”
“If they actually read the bill, they would realize their budget takes away healthcare, cuts off food assistance, and raises costs to pay for massive tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy while sticking working families with the bill,” DCCC spokesman Viet Shelton said in a statement to the Washington Examiner.
Democrats are planning to use the two-week break from Washington to their advantage. House Democrats scheduled national events, including a Save Social Security Day of Action on April 15, a Medicaid Matters Day of Action on April 17, and a Cost of Living Week of Action beginning on April 21.
Since the GOP trifecta took effect, Democrats have accused Republicans of wanting to cut Medicaid and Social Security, notably after lawmakers concluded the $880 billion in proposed budget cuts would run right through Medicaid and other beneficiary programs based on a Congressional Budget Office analysis on mandatory Energy and Commerce Committee spending.
Republicans have pushed back on this, calling it Democratic “hysteria” and noting that the budget resolution, a skeleton document, does not mention Medicaid or Social Security once. But the anger from Americans at GOP-led town halls caused NRCC Chairman Richard Hudson (R-NC) and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to urge their colleagues to move meetings online or to have prescreened questions.
Many Democratic national groups have pledged to hold “People’s Town Halls” in Republicans’ districts “who’ve refused to meet with their constituents in person” during the recess weeks as well.
The DCCC, along with the Democratic National Committee and the Association of State Democratic Committees, is holding town halls in five districts: Arizona’s 6th District, Pennsylvania’s 8th District, Colorado’s 8th District, North Carolina’s 9th District, and Missouri’s 2nd District from April 13 to April 25.
The seats are represented by Reps. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ), Rob Bresnahan (R-PA), Gabe Evans (R-CO), Hudson, and Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MO), respectively. Attending the town halls are Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Chris Murphy (D-CT), as well as Reps. Greg Stanton (D-AZ), Maxwell Frost (D-FL), and Greg Casar (D-TX).
“Since Arizona Republicans like Juan Ciscomani refuse to meet with their constituents after their disastrous vote to put Medicaid on the chopping block, U.S. Senator Cory Booker and Mark Kelly, and U.S. Representative Greg Stanton will do their jobs for them,” the press release for the town hall in Ciscomani’s district reads.
GOP leaders have insisted that reverting to online town halls is to stop giving Democratic activists a platform, as some groups like Indivisible have planned demonstrations and called on members to attend Republican town halls. However, many Republican members have faced backlash from their constituents without the help of Democratic-led groups.
HOW THUNE’S INVOLVEMENT TIPPED THE SCALES IN THE HOUSE BUDGET RESOLUTION FIGHT
Several centrist GOP lawmakers protective of Medicaid and advocates of the state and local tax, or SALT, deduction have made it clear to leadership that they will not support “one big, beautiful bill” that threatens those benefits. But conservative members of the Freedom Caucus, who held up the budget resolution vote this week, are insistent they won’t support a bill that doesn’t have at least $1.5 trillion in cuts and reforms to programs such as Medicaid.
This puts Johnson at a risky crossroads as he works to have a reconciliation bill passed and signed by Trump by Memorial Day.
