Trump Suspends Funding to the National Endowment for Democracy

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Trump Suspends Funding to the National Endowment for Democracy

(Dave DeCamp, Antiwar.com) The Trump administration has frozen funding to the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), a US-funded organization that meddles in elections and pushes regime change around the world in the name of “promoting democracy.”

According to The Free Press, an order from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to the US Treasury Department that blocked the disbursement of funds to the NED has crippled the organization’s activities.

“It’s been a bloodbath,” an NED staffer told the FP. “We have not been able to meet payroll and pay basic overhead expenses.”

The NED, which was founded during the Cold War in 1983, received $315 million from the US government for the 2025 fiscal year, according to the report.

In 1991, Allen Weinstein, a co-founder of NED, acknowledged to The Washington Post that a lot of what the organization did was done “covertly 25 years ago by the CIA.”

Washington Post columnist David Ignatius listed some examples of the NED’s “overt” action that was previously done by the CIA, including “providing money and moral support for pro-democracy groups, training resistance fighters, working to subvert communist rule.”

The NED has been targeted by Musk, who asked his followers in a recent post on X to list “all the evil things that NED has done.” Jim Bovard, a senior fellow at the Libertarian Institute, replied with an article about how he has been critical of the organization for 40 years.

In a 2009 article for the Future Freedom Foundation, Bovard said the NED is “based on the notion that its meddling in foreign elections is automatically pro-democracy because the US government is the incarnation of democracy. NED has always operated on the principle that ‘what’s good for the US government is good for democracy.’”

In a 2006 piece for The American Conservative, Bovard detailed NED’s efforts to push for regime change in Latin America. “In 2001, NED quadrupled its aid to Venezuelan opponents of elected president Hugo Chavez, and NED heavily funded some organizations involved in a bloody military coup that temporarily removed Chavez from power in April 2002. After Chavez retook control, NED and the State Department responded by pouring even more money into groups seeking his ouster,” he wrote.

Bovard continued, “The International Republican Institute, one of the largest NED grant recipients, played a key role both in the Chavez coup and also in the overthrow of Haiti’s elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide. In February 2004, an array of NED-aided groups and individuals helped spur an uprising that left 100 people dead and toppled Aristide.”

This article originally appeared on Antiwar.com.

Homan Warns AOC Over Anti-ICE Webinar: You’re Crossing the Line

Luis Cornelio
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Homan Warns AOC Over Anti-ICE Webinar: You’re Crossing the Line

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., may have violated federal law after live-streaming a virtual event titled “Know Your Rights With ICE,” according to White House border czar Tom Homan, who raised concerns Thursday. 

The video, streamed Wednesday on her taxpayer-funded Facebook page, showed Ocasio-Cortez advising illegal aliens on how to avoid getting apprehended by federal immigration authorities.  

Among Ocasio-Cortez’s suggestions were that illegal aliens “do not have to open” their doors to ICE agents and that foreign nationals can ask federal agents to “leave.” 

Appearing on Fox News’s The Ingraham Angle with host Laura Ingraham, Homan suggested that Ocasio-Cortez’s comments might have amounted to a violation of federal law. 

“I sent an email today to the Deputy Attorney General [Emil Bove], ‘At what level is that impeding? Is that impeding our law enforcement efforts? If so, what are we going to do about it? Is she crossing the line?’” Homan said. 

Homan confirmed he is actively working with the DOJ to determine whether actions like Ocasio-Cortez’s cross the line between lawful and illegal conduct. 

“Maybe AOC is going to be in trouble now, but I need the AAG to opine on that,” Homan said. “Impeding is impeding in my opinion. I am not a federal prosecutor, but we need some further guidance on that.” 

Homan also suggested that federal funds could be withheld from New York City if they hinder federal immigration operations. 

Ocasio-Cortez brushed off Homan’s fiery comments, accusing him of being unable to read. 

“‘MaYbe shE’s goiNg to be in TroUble nOw,’” she quipped on X. “Maybe he can learn to read. The Constitution would be a good place to start.”

Elon Musk Reportedly Impregnated a MAGA Influencer

Luis Cornelio
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Elon Musk Reportedly Impregnated a MAGA Influencer

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Less than two months into 2025, Elon Musk has found himself at the center of viral headlines that have left many shocked and some cheering. The tech mogul allegedly fathered a child with Ashley St. Clair, a social media influencer and commentator. 

St. Clair, known for her work on The Babylon Bee, announced Friday that she and Musk, 53, welcomed a new child “five months ago.”

She claimed she was forced to go public due to an impending media exposé. Her announcement has garnered nearly 38 million views.

“I have not previously disclosed this to protect our child’s privacy and safety, but in recent days it has become clear that tabloid media intends to do so, regardless of the harm it will cause,” she wrote in a statement shared by her public relations team.

She then urged the press to respect her child’s privacy and “refrain from invasive reporting.” However, some critics pointed out that she granted an exclusive interview to the New York Post despite her plea for privacy.

In the interview, St. Clair spoke candidly about her child and the alleged relationship with Musk, who owns X and is despised by the left for his work in President Donald Trump’s DOGE initiative.

“My child is the most perfect thing that happened to me. I wouldn’t change anything,” she said.

She claimed Musk first contacted her through direct messages on X. “He was smart. He was very down to earth. It started with X interactions and he slid into my DM’s. I think it was a meme.” 

The relationship ended after she became pregnant, the New York Post suggested. “I was told to keep it secret. I was being asked to keep it a secret forever,” she said of the pregnancy. 

Since then, Musk reportedly moved her into a Manhattan apartment with a large security detail. Despite this, St. Clair claimed Musk ignored her messages notifying him that she was going public. 

Musk did not, however, ignore resurfaced social media posts allegedly revealing that St. Clair had openly expressed interest in him years before they were allegedly romantically involved. 

In 2020, she reportedly wrote: “I need it to get elon musk’s attention for a marriage proposal pls greg,” responding to fellow social media personality Greg Price. 

When Price noted that Musk already had a child, St. Clair quipped, “Well he actually has 7 kids & goes through women pretty fast.”  

Musk’s only response was a single-word post: “Whoa.” 

St. Clair fired back at Musk in a series of now-deleted posts, accusing him of ignoring her attempts at communication all while asking her to “have more children last week.” 

Musk, who has 12 publicly acknowledged children, did not respond to the New York Post’s requests for comment. 

He is currently the head of DOGE, a Trump-led initiative to purge corruption and waste out of the federal government. Thus far, DOGE has saved taxpayers millions of dollars and has led to the firings of thousands of government bureaucrats. 

Treasury Dept. Inspector General Begins Audit of Musk’s Payroll Access

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Treasury Dept. Inspector General Begins Audit of Musk’s Payroll Access

(Headline USA) The Treasury Department’s Office of Inspector General on Friday said it was launching an audit of the security controls for the federal government’s payment system, after Democratic senators whined about the access provided to Trump aide Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency team.

The audit will also review the past two years of the system’s transactions as it relates to Musk’s assertion of “alleged fraudulent payments,” according to a letter from Loren J. Sciurba, Treasury’s deputy inspector general, that was obtained by the Associated Press.

“We expect to begin our fieldwork immediately,” Sciurba wrote.

“Given the breadth of this effort, the audit will likely not be completed until August; however, we recognize the danger that improper access or inadequate controls can pose to the integrity of sensitive payment systems,” he continued. “As such, if critical issues come to light before that time, we will issue interim updates and reports.”

The audit marks part of the broader effort led by Democratic lawmakers and federal employee unions to undermine DOGE’s activities as President Donald Trump’s approval rating surges and his drastic workforce reductions are met with widespread support.

Among those cut have been several partisan or otherwise ineffective inspectors general, raising questions as to whether Trump will be willing to humor the Treasury efforts if they come off as a partisan stunt.

Treasury’s inspector general began the audit before Democratic lawmakers asked for it. A. J. Altemus, acting counsel to the inspector general, said “our work is independently initiated” and standards dictate that the audit “must be non-partisan and objective. These standards remain unchanged.”

Musk has uncovered rampant waste, fraud and abuse. But Democrats fear his team’s aggressive efforts could lead to the failure of government computer systems and enable Musk and his partners to profit off private information maintained by the government.

Some also appear to be worried about the secrets Musk might expose related to the lawmakers themselves.

The audit would overlap with increased pressure that the Trump administration is placing on inspectors general, presidential appointees who are supposed to serve as an independent check against mismanagement and abuse of government power.

In January, the administration fired several independent inspectors general at government agencies, a move that some members of Congress said violated federal oversight laws. The firings prompted a lawsuit filed on Wednesday in federal court in Washington that seeks to return the inspectors general to their jobs.

Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Ron Wyden of Oregon led the push for the inspector general office’s inquiry at the Treasury.

On Wednesday, Warren, Wyden and Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent noting the inconsistencies in the accounts provided by his department about DOGE.

“Your lack of candor about these events is deeply troubling given the threats to the economy and the public from DOGE’s meddling, and you need to provide a clear, complete, and public accounting of who accessed the systems, what they were doing, and why they were doing it,” the Democratic lawmakers wrote in their letter.

The Treasury Department provided conflicting information about DOGE’s access to the payment system. Initially, it claimed the access was read only, only to then acknowledge that a DOGE team member briefly had the ability to edit code, and then to say in an employee sworn statement that the ability to edit was granted by accident.

The 25-year-old employee granted the access, Marko Elez, resigned this month after racist posts were discovered on one of his social media accounts, only for Musk to call for his rehiring with the backing of Trump and Vice President JD Vance.

Lawfare activists and labor unions have filed lawsuits over DOGE’s potential unauthorized access to sensitive Treasury payment systems, and five former treasury secretaries have sounded the alarm over Musk’s DOGE accessing sensitive Treasury Department payment systems and potentially stopping congressionally authorized payments.

Earlier this week, the Treasury declined to brief a pair of the highest-ranking lawmakers on the Senate Finance Committee, including Wyden, on the ongoing controversy related to DOGE’s use of Treasury payment systems, citing ongoing litigation.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

NYC Mayor Scraps Sanctuary Policies after Meeting w/ Homan, Dropping of DOJ Case

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NYC Mayor Scraps Sanctuary Policies after Meeting w/ Homan, Dropping of DOJ Case

(Headline USA) New York City Mayor Eric Adams says he will allow federal immigration officials to operate at the city’s Rikers Island jail following a meeting Thursday with President Donald Trump’s border czar.

Adams said he will issue an executive order reestablishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement presence at the complex—one of the nation’s largest and most notorious lockups—as had been the case under prior administrations.

The Democrat said ICE agents would be focused on assisting the correction department’s intelligence bureau in criminal investigations, particularly those focused on violent criminals and gangs.

“As I have always said, immigrants have been crucial in building our city and will continue to be key to our future success, but we must fix our long-broken immigration system,” Adams said in a statement. “That is why I have been clear that I want to work with the new federal administration, not war with them, to find common ground and make better the lives of New Yorkers.”

Opponents dismissed the move as a “needless concession” and “legally dubious.”

“ICE’s presence on Rikers serves no legitimate purpose, and opens the door to unlawful collusion between local law enforcement and federal immigration officials in violation of our city’s well-established sanctuary protections,” Zach Ahmad, senior policy counsel at the New York Civil Liberties Union, said.

Trump’s border czar Thomas Homan argued that having an ICE presence at local jails is crucial to removing violent criminals who have entered the country illegally.

“For the naysayers, the city council who wants nothing to do with ICE, they need to understand: If we arrest the bad guy at Rikers Island, then the alien’s safe, the officer’s safe, the community’s safe,” he said in an interview with NewsMax after the meeting.

New York City and agency have had troubled relationship

Homan met with Adams at a federal office building in Manhattan as the Republican administration pushes for more help detaining and deporting people accused of crimes.

ICE has long had a contentious relationship with New York, which has rules and laws limiting police cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

Immigration officials, for example, aren’t able to request city jails hold people wanted for civil immigration law violations past when they would ordinarily be released from custody, under city policy.

New York City has also passed measures that curtail ICE’s access to public schools and other city properties.

Adams, who faces a Democratic primary in June, has said he favors loosening these so-called sanctuary policies, but he doesn’t have the broad power to do so as mayor.

Adams said he talked with Homan about ways to embed more New York police detectives into federal task forces focused on violent gangs and criminal activity, as well as allowing ICE agents to participate in regular meetings with law enforcement agencies in the city.

“We walked away with some real tangible things we can do together, and I’m looking forward to aligning with him and other federal partners to remove dangerous people from our streets,” he said in a radio show interview after the meeting.

On Monday, the U.S. Justice Department ordered federal prosecutors in Manhattan to dismiss corruption charges against Adams so he could focus on assisting the president’s immigration agenda.

As of Thursday, the criminal charges remained in place. If the case is ultimately dropped, the Justice Department says it will conduct a review after the November mayoral election to assess whether it should be reinstated.

Adams has already ordered city officials to lawfully cooperate with Trump’s agenda around immigration and other issues, though the administration’s instructions have sparked confusion among some city workers and contractors.

Adams confirmed later that he also discussed with Homan restoring more than $80 million meant to defray the city’s costs for sheltering homeless illegal immigrants that the Federal Emergency Management Agency unexpectedly clawed back Wednesday.

“I’m not happy about losing $80 million, and we had a conversation on that,” he said during a local television interview.

The Adams administration has leased several hotels and vacant buildings and repurposed them as migrant shelters as the city has tried to house an estimated 230,000 people who have arrived from the U.S. southern border in recent years.

Adams reflects on challenges he faces

In a local radio interview after the meeting, Adams also reflected on the week’s turn of events with a mix of relief and defiance.

“I did nothing wrong. No American should endure what I had to endure,” he said on WABC, referring to the “humiliation and embarrassment” of the months-long federal corruption probe.

As he gears up for a bruising primary fight, Adams said he wants New Yorkers to see his resiliency.

“We’ve all gone through some hard times,” he said. “No matter what you’re going through, have faith in yourself, faith in God, faith in your family, faith in your country and you will navigate through it.”

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

MURDOCK: Demise of DEI Creates a Dilemma for Race-Hustlers

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MURDOCK: Demise of DEI Creates a Dilemma for Race-Hustlers

(Deroy Murdock, Headline USA) Ding dong, DEI is dead! But what will replace it?

Democrats will try to give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. But the Left is unlikely to reverse the fatal blow that President Donald J. Trump dealt this system of state-sponsored racism, as Fox News anchor Will Cain correctly describes it.

Fetishistic, twisted, and cruel programs such as these are now kaput:

  • PBS allocated $1.3 million to “allow indigenous journalists to challenge existing narratives about climate change.” Cecilia Loving, the network’s recently resigned senior VP of DEI, launched “indigenous healing circles.” According to the Free Press’s Josh Code, an internal 2023 presentation explained that “the vulnerability, intimacy, and trust developed through the safe container of circles supports our endorphin system, which in turn stimulates more trust.”
  • Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency unearthed $101 million in US Department of Education DEI grants including one for “faculty workshops titled ‘Decolonizing the Curriculum.” Another aimed to “help students understand/interrogate the complex histories involved in oppression, and help students recognize areas of privilege and power on an individual and collective basis.”
  • A “vast DEI bureaucracy” within the US military has promoted “race- and sex-based scapegoating and stereotyping,” reports Arizona State University’s Center for American Institutions.
  • MaineHealth hospital DEI executive Ryan Polly hosted an “antiracist prayer” in 2023. He beseeched fellow Caucasians to apologize for being white and “challenge the systems that have been designed to give us the advantage and oppress everyone else.”

Trump’s Jan. 21 executive order buried these racist shenanigans.

“Longstanding Federal civil-rights laws protect individual Americans from discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin,” Trump’s order began. “As President, I have a solemn duty to ensure that these laws are enforced for the benefit of all Americans.”

Trump then lamented that DEI policies “not only violate the text and spirit of our longstanding Federal civil-rights laws, they also undermine our national unity, as they deny, discredit, and undermine the traditional American values of hard work, excellence, and individual achievement in favor of an unlawful, corrosive, and pernicious identity-based spoils system.”

Also, Disney, Harley-Davidson, Walmart, and other companies are pounding private-sector nails into DEI’s casket.

So, what will replace DEI or, more accurately, outlive its demise?

“Assuming Trump’s order to abolish DEI programs survives judicial challenges, the various civil rights acts Congress has passed will remain in force,” predicts Dr. Roger Pilon, the Cato Institute’s Senior Fellow in Constitutional Studies. “What will end is the discrimination those DEI programs entail—in the name of anti-discrimination.”

“The end of DEI heralds the return of meritocracy,” says Horace Cooper, a fellow co-founder of Project 21, the black-conservative network. “Smart blacks, browns, and whites need not fear they won’t be allowed to achieve. A merit-based society is far from the return of Jim Crow. Jim Crow specifically stood for the notion that talent had to take a back seat to race. It was immoral, yes, but it was also inefficient because it precluded on the basis of race individuals regardless of how capable they were. America’s Golden Era absolutely requires a full-throated embrace of merit. I, for one, welcome it!”

“The near disappearance of deliberate, invidious discrimination against legally protected classes gave rise to the DEI complex in the first place,” explains the Manhattan Institute’s Heather Mac Donald, author of the jaw-dropping jeremiad When Race Trumps Merit. “If actual, invidious discrimination were such a problem, the race hustlers would not have found a substitute for it. Real discrimination will remain illegal and actionable — if anyone can find it.”

As DEI is lowered into its grave, the civil rights protections secured by the Freedom Riders, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and other heroes of Black History Month will keep protecting genuine victims of actual discrimination, whenever they emerge.

Meanwhile, Americans can wish a fond “Good riddance!” to DEI’s obsessive, relentless clawing at this country’s racial wounds, so that they never heal.

​Deroy Murdock is a Manhattan-based Fox News contributor.

Michigan Judge Sentences Walmart Shoplifters to Wash Cars in Parking Lot

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Michigan Judge Sentences Walmart Shoplifters to Wash Cars in Parking Lot

(Headline USA) A Michigan judge is putting sponges in the hands of shoplifters, ordering them to wash cars in a Walmart parking lot when spring arrives.

Judge Jeffrey Clothier hopes the unusual form of community service discourages people from stealing from Walmart and rewards shoppers who could see higher prices, or possibly lose stores, if thefts continue. The car washes will be free.

“I don’t think everybody that steals is a bad person. Sometimes people are just down on their luck,” said Clothier, who was recently elected to Genesee County District Court. “But there’s going to be consequences when you break the law.”

Clothier told The Associated Press that he began ordering “Walmart wash” sentences this week for misdemeanor shoplifting at the store in Grand Blanc Township, 50 miles north of Detroit. He believes 75 to 100 people eventually will be ordered to wash cars at weekend events at that location in March and April.

The judge said Walmart is “on board” and will provide water and supplies. The company’s Arkansas headquarters didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment Friday.

Clothier said he was shocked to see the breadth of retail thefts when he joined the bench in January, adding that offenders were from all over Michigan and outside the state.

“It’s just crazy,” he said, noting he had 48 such cases on his docket one day.

“I think it will be humiliating to be out there washing cars if you see someone you know,” Clothier said.

Walmart designated a parking space for police because of frequent calls about thefts, township Supervisor Scott Bennett said.

“It’s an innovative approach,” county Prosecutor David Leyton said of the car washes. “Even if it deters one person, then there’s some success there.”

And shoplifters won’t be the only people up to their elbows in suds.

“I will be there washing cars with them,” the judge said.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Trump Rips Into CNN’s Kaitlan Collins for Interrupting: ‘We Haven’t Asked You to Speak Yet’

Maire Clayton
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Trump Rips Into CNN’s Kaitlan Collins for Interrupting: ‘We Haven’t Asked You to Speak Yet’

(Maire Clayton, Headline USA) CNN’s Kaitlan Collins attempted to speak out of turn while President Donald Trump was unveiling his tariff plan on Thursday.

As Trump help up one of his executive orders, the leftist reporter decided to start questioning the 47th president.

“President, you won the White House, in part, because of high inflation. If your tariffs make prices go up,” Collins began.

Trump fired back and made it very clear what he thought of Collins interrupting the event.

“Excuse me, we haven’t asked you to speak yet,” Trump bluntly stated.

Later on the president began fielding questions from the reporters, and Collins asked about Russia President Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine.

As Trump attempted to answer the question, Collins once again tried to interrupt.

“Do you trust President Putin?” she questioned.

Trump fired back and called CNN’s relationship with President Joe Biden into question.

“I know [Biden is] a friend of yours,” the told Collins.

He continued by noting that no one pays attention to her outlet.

“He’s a friend of CNN. That’s why nobody watches CNN anymore,” he added. “Because they have no credibility.”

His retort caused other reporters to audibly chuckle as Trump made Collins look foolish.

Social media users pointed out Collins’s prior behavior with Biden.

“Ironic, Kaitlin Collins was mute during Biden’s years in office,” one user wrote.

Other Trump supporters called on Trump to revoke her press pass for her poor behavior and frequent need to interrupt.

“The constant interruptions, irrelevant questions are beginning to get really annoying,” the user added. “Give the spot to an independent journalist.”

Collins and Trump have a history of going back and forth. While Trump attended a Republican presidential town hall, the correspondent once again interrupted him. It resulted in Trump calling her “a nasty person.”

Trump Hangs Mugshot Outside of the Oval Office

Maire Clayton
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Trump Hangs Mugshot Outside of the Oval Office

(Maire Clayton, Headline USA) President Donald Trump was displaying his mugshot outside of the Oval Office.

The framed New York Post front page with the iconic Georgia mug shot was revealed Friday when he met with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi the previous day.

The Aug. 25, 2023 cover had the words, “Donald Trump glowers in the first mug shot ever taken of a former president after he was arrested on charges of trying to overturn the 2020 Georgia election,” underneath the image.

The image was placed nearby many Founding Fathers, including President George Washington and President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Fulton County Sheriff’s Office released the pic after he surrendered on the charge that he allegedly tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino posted an unclose video of the image and added, “HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY! WELCOME TO THE BEAUTIFUL OVAL OFFICE.”

The image and video of the image in the golden frame quickly circulated on social media.

“A powerful reminder of what we overcame,” the popular X account Johnny Maga wrote. “The country could’ve been looking very different right now.”

Many expressed it serves as a good reminder of how the Democrats continuously tried to have Trump arrested.

“It’s a gentle reminder how they f**ked him over and he is in now power,” one user noted. “I’d probably do the same.”

Trump was the first president to have a mug shot.

The president never shied away from the image and decided to sell the image on shirts, mugs and other merchandise supporting his 2024 presidential campaign.

Other users said the mug shot is part of the reason Trump is back in office.

“That arrest and mug shot is what solidified Donald Trump‘s reelection to the White House!” the user exclaimed. “Because the more the left tried to stick it to Donald Trump, the more of the public rallied behind Donald Trump!”

House Passes $4.5B Budget ‘Blueprint’ for America First Agenda, but Senate May Resist

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House Passes $4.5B Budget ‘Blueprint’ for America First Agenda, but Senate May Resist

(Thérèse Boudreaux, The Center Square) Following more than 10 hours of discussion, the House Budget Committee voted along party lines Thursday night to advance a $4.5 trillion budget resolution that lays out funding plans for President Donald Trump’s border, defense, and energy policies.

It also extends Trump’s 2017 tax cut for the next 10 years, adding at least $2 trillion to the federal deficit even if America experiences strong economic growth.

House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, told lawmakers the resolution is “a blueprint for restoring America’s security, prosperity, and leadership in the world.”

“This reconciliation process is not just an exercise in matching revenues with outlays,” Arrington said.

“More importantly, it’s reconciling the difference between the American people’s interest, expectations and values, and a federal government that has lost its way, forgotten who it serves, and too often has failed to faithfully, fairly, and efficiently execute the law of the land,” he added.

To partially accommodate its large price tag, the House budget resolution raises the debt ceiling by $4 trillion and instructs congressional committees to find at least $1.5 trillion in spending cuts over the next ten years. That amounts to roughly $150 billion annually in savings.

In return, the resolution authorizes a $300 billion increase in mandatory spending split among the Armed Services, Homeland Security, and Judiciary committees.

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, considered a fiscal hawk, called the plan “a giant step forward” to reduce government spending and inflation.

“I am proud of what the chairman has put forward. I believe that is responsible, and I believe it is a balance of what we’re supposed to do,” said Roy, who was one of the prominent dissenting voices in the last budget standoff, which sought a continuing resolution for the existing spending levels.

“Our government spends too much, and we have to stop that. And the American people deserve to have more money in their pockets,” Roy added. “This budget accomplishes both of those two objectives.”

A Republican amendment to allow adjustments to the spending cuts floor and tax impact cap—a compromise Arrington made with fiscal hardliners like Roy—passed, while none of the Democrats’ amendments made the cut.

But House Democrats vehemently opposed the budget resolution, dubbing it “the Republican rip-off.”

Because the Energy and Commerce Committee is shouldered with roughly $880 billion of the $1.5 trillion in spending cuts, Medicaid and SNAP programs will likely see changes.

“This is a betrayal of the American middle class,” Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Penn., the Budget Committee’s ranking minority member, told lawmakers.

“This is a betrayal, actually, of the very people who helped make Donald Trump president,” he continued. “Nothing in here whatsoever will bring costs down. In fact, by increasing the deficit, increasing the debt, by including massive tax cuts, all of that will spike inflation.”

The national debt, currently more than $36 trillion, grew by $2.5 trillion in fiscal year 2024 alone and is projected to reach $40.9 trillion by 2027.

Arrington disagreed that the resolution would increase the cost of living, reminding Democrats that “opposing this is going to be a tax hike on families and individuals.”

If the Trump tax cuts expire, the average taxpayer will see a 22% tax hike and their guaranteed deduction slashed in half, according to data from the House Ways and Means Committee.

Despite surviving the committee, the House budget resolution faces another major obstacle before Congress can haggle over specifics: opposition from Republicans in the Senate.

While Arrington and Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., hashed out the details of the package earlier this week, Senate Republicans got tired of waiting.

Rejecting the House’s one-bill approach, Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., introduced a fully offset $342 billion budget resolution that funds the border and military but puts off the tax cuts extension for a second, later bill.

The Senate budget resolution passed the committee on party lines and advanced Wednesday.

The two different budget resolutions may lead to a showdown between House and Senate Republicans.

The chambers must advance identical budget resolutions before they can move forward in the reconciliation process and craft legislation that implements the budget items.

Congress also doesn’t have much time to spare as government funding runs out on March 14. Lawmakers are still undecided on a top-line number for the appropriations bill.

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