Republicans promised to cut wasteful federal spending in an effort to reign in the spiraling federal debt crisis — and it has Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and her Democratic Party allies crying racism.
During the fight to become House Speaker, Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., promised his detractors he would fight to bring federal spending back to fiscal 2022 levels — an 8% reduction, or 17% if defense military spending is spared.
Now Republican leaders have targeted “woke-waste” spending in the debt ceiling fight with President Joe Biden.
Specifically, they’ve targeted programs like the millions being spent on an LGTBQ+ museum in New York City and a hiking trail named after former first lady Michelle Obama that was added to the budget in December.
A few more earmarks:
$477k for "antiracist" training from the Equity Institute
$3 million for the LGBTQ+ museum in NYC
$1.2 million in "services for DACA recipients"
$4.1 million in various career programs for one of the richest counties in the US (Fairfax) pic.twitter.com/pPTxuTwGfQ
— Rep. Dan Bishop (@RepDanBishop) December 20, 2022
Republicans say these programs are wasteful and could easily be cut as part of an overall deficit reduction plan.
McCarthy has said he’s willing to sit down with Biden and Democratic Party leaders to discuss the debt ceiling and budget cuts that would put America on the path to a balanced budget.
“I want to sit down together, work out an agreement that we can move forward to put us on a path to balance — and at the same time not put any of our debt in jeopardy at the same time,” McCarthy said in late January.
Ocasio-Cortez said Tuesday that proposing a cut in federal spending is racist.
“It’s very exemplary of their approach, which is a blend of cutting support to working-class families while also lacing in bigotry and racism,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., told The Hill.
The Republican leader’s real goal isn’t to cut wasteful spending on things like funds for transgendered illegal immigrants, she claimed.
Instead, Ocasio-Cortez said Republicans only want “to distract from the actual economic impact, negative economic impact, that they’re having on working families.”
She isn’t alone in her complaints. Other Democratic leaders have echoed her remarks that Republican federal spending cuts on “woke” programs are rooted in racism and bigotry.
“I think they cut the line pretty close to — maybe cross the line — when it comes to trying to disguise racism with something else,” Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., said about Republican budget cut proposals. “I think that’s what it is.”
“It’s a distraction from the issues that the majority of Americans actually care about,” Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., said. “This is a waste of time and will go absolutely nowhere in this Congress.”
The Horn editorial team