As the current Congress got underway, and the ugly fight over House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s leadership bid was resolved, Republicans turned their attention to a vague policy goal: cutting spending. Indeed, McCarthy was forced to strike behind-the-scenes deals with his own far-right members, and one of their principal demands was drastic reductions in public investments.
GOP officials did not know, however, what exactly they intended to cut.
As Axios reported in early January, possible reductions in defense spending had “emerged as a flashpoint” among Republicans, who disagreed among themselves about whether to even consider such cuts. Asked on Fox News about whether Congress would at least take a look at the military’s budget, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, echoing the sentiment of many on the far right, said at the time, “We got a $32 trillion debt. Everything has to be on the table.”
Or not. NBC News reported overnight:
McCarthy drew a line against cuts to military spending prior to meeting with Biden: “I don’t think you should put America in jeopardy. To me, it is off the table.”
In fact, according to multiple reports from different news organizations, as part of the behind-closed-doors budget talks with Democratic leaders, Republicans are actually demanding more defense spending, not less, despite the fact that military spending has already reached extraordinary levels.
At first blush, this might not seem especially surprising. GOP officials have spent decades pushing the Pentagon’s budget to new heights, and the party’s current posture is entirely in line with the party’s general approach.
But given the current circumstances, there’s a bit more to it than that.
For one thing, it now appears the intraparty debate over defense spending, which drew considerable attention in January, has run its course. There may have been Republicans who were ready, if not eager, to take scissors to the military’s budget, but at this point they’ve lost that fight.
For another, as GOP leaders run around saying that spending cuts are their top priority, which they’re pursuing with unbridled desperation, it’s worth keeping these revelations in mind: McCarthy & Co. love government spending, just so long as it’s going to priorities they deem worthwhile.
But let’s also not miss the forest for the trees: As McCarthy considers military spending “off the table,” it’s worth taking a closer look at what’s left on the table.
Remember, as the process has unfolded, the House speaker and his leadership team have said Social Security is off the table. And Medicare is off the table. And military spending is off the table. And new tax revenue is off the table. By some accounts, the GOP is taking funding for veterans care off the table, too.
Maybe you agree with these positions, maybe you don’t, but as a simple matter of budget policy, what McCarthy has taken off the table is most of what the U.S. government spends money on.
Why is it that proposed Republican cuts would dramatically undermine the interests of working families, students, and low-income Americans? In part because the party doesn’t see these investments as worthwhile, and in part because there’s little else in the budget for the GOP to go after.
As the bipartisan talks struggle to work toward a resolution, keep this core detail in mind.
