US President Donald Trump rallied Republicans on Capitol Hill on Tuesday to back a so-called "big, beautiful bill" that is likely to increase the yawning budget deficit and cut healthcare for millions of Americans.
Sharp divisions in the party have slowed the progress through Congress of Trump's budget bill, which pairs an extension of the billionaire's signature tax cuts from his first term with a series of savings.
But conservatives are angling for much deeper spending cuts to tackle the ballooning deficit, while moderates say the savings would mean millions of the poorest Americans lose health coverage under the Medicaid programme. Trump said as he was greeted by Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson that there were "one or two grandstanders" blocking the bill but that he was confident of a deal. He warned that without the bill the United States would face huge tax increases.
"I think we're going to have a very good discussion. There are one or two points that some people feel strongly about, but maybe not so strong," Trump told reporters as he went in to meet lawmakers.
Trump has been eager to present the bill as a significant legislative accomplishment early in his second term, after a frenzied first few months where he has governed largely through presidential orders.
Fiscal hawks oppose the bill on the grounds that it would pile on to the already huge US budget deficit.
Independent congressional analysts calculate that the mega-bill's tax provisions would add more than $4.8 trillion over the coming decade. Trump insisted that he was "not touching" Medicaid but just cutting "waste, fraud and abuse" — the slogan of the administration's cost-slashing drive led by tech tycoon Elon Musk. — AFP
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