Serious About Spending
Washington, D.C., is in panic mode. Check out this headline: “Trump Team Prepares Dramatic Cuts.”
According to The Hill, two Trump officials, who are both very close to Vice President-elect Mike Pence, have been meeting with career White House staff about “their plans for shrinking the federal bureaucracy. . . The changes they propose are dramatic.” Here are some of the ideas that have the bureaucrats freaking out:
- The Commerce and Energy Departments would be seriously slashed.
- Justice, State and Transportation would face big budget cuts as well, as programs are consolidated and eliminated.
- The Corporation for Public Broadcasting may be privatized.
- The National Endowment for the Arts would be “eliminated entirely.”
- Offices that serve as little more than slush funds for left-wing special interest groups would be shut down.Another report notes that the Trump/Pence team is looking for budget cuts as high as 10% and a 20% cut to the bureaucracy. Staffing cuts would come from a hiring freeze and agency restructuring.
I am also pleased to report that Congress has taken the first step toward rolling back the size and scope of government by passing a budget that begins the process of repealing Obamacare. House Republicans also passed a number of measures which revamp the entire regulatory process.
“A Rough Start”
As promised, Senate Democrats are doing everything they can to fight Trump’s reform agenda. Right now, their efforts are focused on preventing his cabinet nominees from taking the reins of powers.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had hoped that the Senate would confirm as many cabinet secretaries for Trump as it did for Obama on Day One of the new administration. But Senate Democrat Leader Chuck Schumer is demanding more time.
“It’s safe to say the Democrats are in a bad mood,” McConnell said. “You can see that in the way the confirmations process is going on in the Senate. We are getting off to kind of a rough start.”
According to various reports, only three Trump cabinet nominees may be confirmed by Friday, compared to seven who were confirmed on Obama’s first day in office in 2009. Those most likely to receive votes Friday are Gen. James Mattis (Secretary of Defense), Gen. John Kelly (Secretary of Homeland Security) and Rep. Mike Pompeo (Director of the CIA).
To be clear, Democrats cannot filibuster cabinet nominees, but they can and they are slowing down the process. If the stalling continues, the Senate is on the slowest confirmation pace since George H.W. Bush in 1989.
However, Supreme Court nominees can be filibustered, and the Democrats’ recent actions strongly suggest that the confirmation battle to fill Justice Scalia’s seat will be a no holds barred fight.
That is why it is so important for our friends and supporters to stand with American Values now.
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