Trump budget tests House GOP unity, pitting tax cuts against Medicaid

Trump budget tests House GOP unity, pitting tax cuts against Medicaid.

Spain, Portugal hit by nationwide power outages.

Congress is back in session this week and Trump’s budget request is at the top of the agenda for Republicans in the House. Given the GOP’s narrow majority, they can only afford a few defections in order to get the bill through. Trump has asked Republicans in Congress to deliver a single bill that will contain and fund all of his policy priorities, including defense spending and mass deportation.

The proposed budget also includes making Trump’s 2017 tax cuts permanent, which will cost at least $4 trillion over the next 10 years. Analyses have shown that these tax cuts have mostly benefited the very rich.

The tax cuts are also going to add substantially to the federal deficit, which will not please Republican budget hawks. The president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget recently described the budget plan as “The largest deficit increase in history” and “an absolute disgrace”.

Republicans are looking for ways to cut spending in order to (only partially) offset the deficit increase. Agreeing on what programs to cut is going to be a tall order, even among Republicans. Some lawmakers are eyeing cuts to programs like Medicaid and SNAP, which tens of millions of Americans rely on. About a dozen Republican lawmakers have already said they will not support the legislation if it reduces Medicaid coverage.

Trump has threatened to support 2026 primary challengers against any Republicans who vote against the bill. However, Trump’s approval ratings are underwater and dropping, meaning neither an endorsement nor a challenge from him will carry much weight. Republicans may have more to fear from the wrath of their voters if they cut programs that many of them rely upon.

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Spain, Portugal hit by nationwide power outages

This morning, Spain, Portugal were hit by nationwide blackouts, while parts of France were also briefly affected. Some Spanish regions had their grids back online within a few hours, but others remain in the dark. As of late Monday night, about 61% of Spain’s power had been restored. The situation was similar in Portugal. Some municipalities, including the capital Lisbon, have had their power restored, but many regions are still without power.

As of now, there is no clear answer as to what caused the blackouts. The Portuguese have claimed that the problem originated in Spain, while Spain has pointed the finger at its connection via France to the larger European power grid. It does not appear that there was any malicious action involved, such as a cyber-attack, but it has not been ruled out.

The outages wrought havoc throughout Spain and France, including to their travel infrastructure. Airports in both countries were shut down. Thousands of commuters were also stranded on metro trains stuck between stations and traffic lights were affected across both countries. Communications and mobile networks were also affected.

Some facilities, including hospitals and other emergency services, were relying on backup generators. However, shops, factories and many other businesses had no option but to wait and hope, and many closed for the day. Businesses selling and producing food are expected to take massive losses with no way to refrigerate their food.

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