McCarthy continues to float cuts to Social Security and Medicare

Despite securing a series of austerity measures, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R) said in a recent Fox interview that he will explore more options for cutting federal spending. 

The tentative agreement to raise the debt ceiling, which passed the House and cleared the final hurdles of the Senate on Thursday, includes a cap on all discretionary spending in 2024 and 2025. It will also peel back investments into I.R.S. enforcement, institute work requirements for single households between the ages of 50 to 54 on government assistance, end Biden’s student loan freeze and will expedite the process of approving energy projects like the Mountain Valley Pipeline in West Virginia. 

President Joe Biden is expected to sign the bill, but will veto attempts to repeal his student loan forgiveness plan.  

Such cuts will only save the federal government about $860 billion over the next decade. That’s why cynical deficit hawks like McCarthy are now calling for eliminating certain funds to so-called “entitlements” like Medicare and Social Security. 

“We have to look at the entire budget,” McCarthy told “Outnumbered” host Harris Faulkner on Fox News. “The majority of the budget is mandatory spending; it’s Medicare, Social Security, interest on the debt… But we were able to increase our defense to protect us [and] take care of our veterans.”

“We are now going to spend less now than we did in 2022. That’s a major victory.”

McCarthy said he will soon announce a commission to explore more budget cuts, and that such slash-and-burn tactics were only the first steps in undermining critical programs for low-income people.