Republicans Unveil Plan for $4.5 Billion in U.S. Tax Cuts

House Republicans today released a budget plan that calls for up to $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and a $4 trillion increase in the U.S. debt limit.

The budget plan also directs several House committees to cut spending by at least $1.5 trillion (1.4 trillion euros), saying the goal is to reduce spending by $2 trillion over 10 years.

The bill represents the first step in a long legislative process that will allow Republicans to pass some of their top priorities with a simple majority vote.

The House Budget Committee is expected to vote on the plan on Thursday. House Speaker Mike Johnson predicted the plan would easily pass committee.

"Then we'll work with everyone throughout the week to make sure they're on board," Johnson said.

Johnson has set an ambitious timetable for introducing the resolution and subsequent legislation, but tensions remain within the Republican conference over the scope of the tax and spending cut proposals. Some want more tax cuts than the bill calls for, while others want steeper spending cuts.

"There's going to be a lot of back and forth negotiations," Johnson said. "There are a lot of moving parts, but our goal is to deliver on all of the president's campaign promises and the full agenda, so we have time to do that."

Budget resolutions are often seen as statements of priorities. But the 45-page plan is more than just a political blueprint, as it gives specific directions to House committees for reorganizing the flow of federal money.

Republican Party leaders are considering cuts to social services, and in particular Medicaid, as they seek to make significant savings.

The Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees health care spending, is expected to cut $880 billion over the decade, while the Education and Labor Committee is expected to reduce spending by $330 billion. The Agriculture Committee is set to see $230 billion in cuts, while the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is set to face at least $10 billion in cuts through 2034.

Even if some programs were cut, the money would be shifted to other Trump priorities, including a $100 billion increase in defense spending over the next decade through the Armed Services Committee and an additional $90 billion for the Department of Homeland Security, which is carrying out Trump's mass deportation of immigrants.

While House Republicans are pushing ahead, Senate Republicans are pursuing a more limited effort focused on increasing border security and defense spending.

The Senate Budget Committee has begun work on the tighter budget plan. It would allow spending $175 billion on border security, $150 billion on defense and $20 billion on the Coast Guard. The budget would not include an extension of the tax cuts, leaving that issue to be addressed in a second bill later this year.

Senator Lindsey Graham, the committee chairman, said in selling the bill to other lawmakers that most Americans support deporting immigrants who are in the United States illegally, but that Immigration and Customs Enforcement was running out of funds. He also added that more agents and detention space will be needed to enable the deportation effort.

Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley said the Republican Party's effort would end up driving the country deeper into debt through massive tax cuts that he said would primarily benefit the wealthy. The Democrat argues that this is a trend that has occurred repeatedly with Republicans in the White House.