GOP Gambles on Budget Plan That Helps the Rich and Cuts Aid to the Poor

The Republican Party won the last election in no small part because of its new appeal with working-class voters, a shift that left many in Washington wondering if a sustained political realignment was afoot.But the economic agenda Republicans are now putting together on Capitol Hill would by and large help rich Americans, all while teeing up cuts to programs that provide health care and food to the poor.The disconnect has left some Republicans nervous about whether they are abandoning their newfound base of support.Democrats, eyeing that vulnerability, are hammering Republicans for planning to take from the poor to give to the rich, a line of attack that they believe helped lift them back into power during President Trump’s first term.Who is helped and who is harmed by Republicans’ plans are shaping up to be central questions for G.O.P.

lawmakers as they try to squeeze legislation through their narrow majorities in Congress.The House on Tuesday adopted a budget blueprint that calls for $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and $2 trillion in spending reductions, alongside $300 billion in new funding for defense and border programs and an increase in the debt limit.The House vote was just the first step in what could be a circuitous path to turning the plans into law.

The Republican Senate has its own ideas for the party’s agenda, and the two chambers will have to agree on the broad strokes of the legislation before they can proceed to passing it along party lines.Some House Republicans who supported the budget outline this week said they hoped that the Senate would ultimately tear up their plans.Making the math work in the House plan would almost certainly require cuts to programs for the poor like Medicaid, which provides health care to more than 70 million Americans.

Representative Jeff Van Drew, a New Jersey Republican, said he had pitched Mr.Trump on avoiding deep cuts to Medicaid.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in you...