Budget Deal Debt Ceiling
Carlos Osorio/The Associated Press
We ran the numbers: There are 736 news articles covering this topic. 59% (459) are left leaning, 28% (265) center, 13% (12) right leaning.
President Trump’s support of the proposed $1.37 trillion budget deal for the next two years has Democrats and Republicans concerned and the fiscal hawks in Congress frustrated.
President Trump expressed optimism about the budget discussions with congressional leaders, Nancy Pelosi, and GOP leaders on Capitol Hill, saying “We’re doing very well on debt limit...and I think we’re doing very well on the budget.” Additionally, President Trump emphasized his desire for “robust” military spending to be reflected in the budget.
Both Democrats and Republicans expressed distress over the record-high budget ceiling of $1.37 trillion. Of the increased $320 billion in spending, budget director, Russel Vought, and other officials sought to offset the costs by cutting $150 billion, but only ended up receiving approximately half– $77 billion. Furthermore, because many of these cuts are projected to occur in future years, many have become skeptical of the actual impact on spending, due to the fact the project numbers are subject to change. For Democrats, another major concern arises from the administration's ability to finance the construction of the US-Mexico wall by transferring money between budget accounts. Republicans, on the other hand, have put pressure on GOP leaders to decrease spending because of concern over the ability to offset increased spending with budget cuts. Some believe that this would affect President Trump’s chance at reelection because of the lack of “progress on America’s staggering national debt, which exceeds $22 trillion”.
Despite the concerns from Democrats and Republicans alike, it is projected that the Senate could receive bipartisan support when the Senate returns in August.
Sources on both the left and right focused on the specific details of the proposed budget–namely the $1.37 trillion debt ceiling and the $77 billion in budget caps. Additionally, both sides addressed how the proposed budget spending would further increase the US national debt of over $22 trillion. Coverage from the center had a tendency to focus mostly on these topics without going into much detail about the plans or opinions of their respective congressional leaders. An article from The Washington Post took a narrative sort of stance by focusing on the details of President Trump’s responses and updates regarding budget talks.
Coverage on the left also included details regarding President Trump’s discussion of the budget but also incorporated Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi’s input on the matter. More specifically, the article cites Pelosi’s role in “keeping future spending bills largely free of contentious policy provisions opposed by Republicans” such as the White House’s ability to transfer money between budget accounts mentioned earlier.
Similarly, much of the right included the input of their own members in regards to the budget ceiling and cuts. Namely, Rep. Mike Johnson, head of the Republic and Study Committee who, like many Republicans, expressed concern over supporting the deal that would “increase [spending] without much effort to pay for it or curb spending in the future”, according to an article from The Washington Examiner.
Despite differences in opinions for funding the defense budget or capping spending on Medicare, both sides have expressed shared concern over the increased debt limit and budget cuts.
From the left
Trump praises ‘very good talks’ as White House, Pelosi close in on two-year budget deal
Washington Post