Democrats outline playbook to target House Republicans on Medicaid, budget and DOGE
Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — Democrats plan to target House Republicans in vulnerable districts by highlighting potential cuts to Medicaid and other federal spending in the budget blueprint GOP lawmakers hope to vote on this week, according to a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee memo first obtained by ABC News.
The memo titled “Medicaid Cuts Prove Politically Perilous for House Republicans” outlines a plan to paint GOP members in swing districts as voting for a “budget blueprint that would inflict massive pain upon American families.”
The budget blueprint sets a goal of at least $2 trillion dollars in cuts to mandatory federal spending, which includes funding for entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare.
Medicaid, the health care program for low-income Americans and those with disabilities, is expected to face the brunt of the cuts. Some GOP members have discussed including new work requirements for the program and limiting how much the federal government pays each state.
Republican leadership has repeatedly promised not to cut other entitlement programs.
“Rather than delivering on their campaign promises to lower the high cost of living, [Republicans] are poised to pass an extreme budget scheme that would decimate affordable health care and take food off the tables of millions of American families,” the memo reads. “Republicans will find that a ‘yes’ vote doomed their reelection chances come November 2026.”
Vulnerable Republicans, several of whom represent swing districts with a significant number of constituents on Medicaid, have expressed serious concern that safety net programs could be on the chopping block.
“Slashing Medicaid would have serious consequences, particularly in rural and predominantly Hispanic communities where hospitals and nursing home are already struggling to keep their doors open,” Republican members of the Congressional Hispanic Conference wrote to Speaker Mike Johnson in a letter last week.
GOP leadership has stressed to members that, while the budget blueprint calls for substantial cuts, specific cuts have yet to be determined. And Republican members have disputed their budget will have a negative impact on low-income families, pointing to policies like “No Tax on Tips,” a signature Trump campaign promise included in the budget plan.
The Democratic memo also notes House Republicans in safe red seats are already facing what it calls “massive political blowback” at town hall meetings back home, as angry voters speak out about potential funding cuts and thousands of recent firings by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“We are all fricking pissed off about this, you’re going to hear it,” a constituent said to Rep Rich McCormick, R-Ga., at a town hall last week.
Johnson told ABC News the protests were an “ambush” organized by Democratic advocacy groups.
“I think the American people largely applaud what’s happening. We need to get government cut back to its size and scope the way it should be and make sure people are doing their work,” he said.
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump’s sweeping pardons and commutations for nearly all of the rioters charged with joining the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol was “disturbing” and an affront to the law enforcement officers who were assaulted at the hands of the pro-Trump mob, a former top prosecutor from the D.C. U.S. attorney’s office told ABC News in an exclusive interview Tuesday.
“It’s disturbing because what it says to the victims, to the officers who put their lives on the line that day to defend the country, and also to the officers who then went and told their stories and testified in court — reliving the trauma of that day over and over and subjected themselves to cross-examination,” Alexis Loeb, who oversaw multiple high profile Jan. 6 cases during her time as deputy chief of the office’s Capitol Breach section, told ABC news.
“It’s disturbing because of what it says about the rule of law and the message it sends about political violence being acceptable and attacks on the peaceful transfer of power, something that has distinguished our nation, being acceptable,” Loeb said.
Trump has defended his decision to hand down pardons and halt the ongoing prosecutions for nearly all of the more than 1,500 people charged in the four years since the attack on the Capitol, even in the face of criticism from some Republican Senators.
Many of those pardoned were convicted in engaging in brutal attacks against the roughly 140 law enforcement officers injured in the attack — documented through thousands of hours of videos and police body camera footage — using weapons from bats, hockey sticks, bear spray and stun guns.
“I’m the friend of — I am the friend of police, more than any president that’s ever been in this office,” Trump said. Sixteen other Jan. 6 rioters had their sentences commuted.
“As you know, we commuted about 16 of them because it looks like they could have done things that were not acceptable for a full pardon, but these people have served years of jail. Their lives have been ruined …, ” Trump said at an event Tuesday night. “They served years in jail. And if you look at the American public, the American public is tired of it. Take a look at the election. Just look at the numbers on the election.”
Loeb told ABC News Trump’s pardons may have wiped away the cases and guilty verdicts against the rioters, but they could not erase the historical record of their many crimes.
“These were prosecutions staffed by career prosecutors and FBI agents of all sorts of political persuasions who came together and prosecuted these cases because they all recognized that attacking police officers was wrong, breaking into the Capitol was wrong,” Loeb said. “And what the pardons did do, was that they wiped away the verdicts and the sentences, not the historical record of what happened, but the verdicts and the sentences and the verdicts and the sentences were handed down by juries made up of ordinary citizens and judges appointed by both political parties, including several judges who were appointed by President Trump.”
After the attack on the U.S. Capitol by rioters seeking to overturn the 2020 election, more than 1,580 people were charged criminally in federal court, according to the Department of Justice. More than 1,000 have pleaded guilty. That figure includes 608 individuals who have faced charges for assaulting, resisting or interfering with law enforcement trying to protect the complex that day, the office said. Approximately 140 law enforcement officers were injured during the riot, the DOJ has said.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office previously said it is evaluating whether to bring charges in roughly 200 cases that have been referred to them by the FBI, about 60 of which involve potential felony charges involving allegations of assault or impeding law enforcement. Trump’s executive order, however, appears to have completely shuttered the probe and the FBI removed from its website previous ‘wanted’ posters it had for violent rioters who had yet to be identified.
At least 221 individuals have been found guilty at contested trials in U.S. District Court, the DOJ said. Another 40 individuals have been convicted following an agreed-upon set of facts presented to and accepted by the court.
Some current and former DOJ officials have expressed alarm at the potential that the pardons could lead some now-freed defendants to target some of the former prosecutors who oversaw their cases, the judges who sentenced them, or witnesses who may have testified against them at trial.
Loeb declined to say whether she was personally concerned about the threat of retribution from those she prosecuted, and instead expressed confidence in the integrity of the legal system that resulted in the rioters’ convictions.
“The juries overwhelmingly found that the government had proved its case by a beyond a reasonable doubt, and the juries paid close attention throughout the trial and were just riveted by the video that came from all angles,” Loeb said. “These were some of the most documented crimes, I think, that we’ve ever seen.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday he supports “redemption” and “second chances” for Jan. 6 Capitol rioters after Trump’s sweeping pardons.
At his weekly press conference, Johnson was asked how Republicans can tout “backing the blue” if they support pardons for those convicted of assaulting police officers during the attack.
“The president has the pardon and commutation authority. It’s his decision,” Johnson said. “And I think what was made clear all along is that peaceful protests and people who engage in that should never be punished. There was a weaponization of the Justice Department.”
Trump’s pardons of Jan. 6 rioters received condemnation from some unions that represent law enforcement.
“The vast majority of Americans do not support letting those who assault or attack law enforcement off the hook ‘scot-free,'” the Capitol Police Officers’ Union said in a statement. “This use of presidential power is not what Americans want to see and it’s not what law enforcement officers deserve.”
“The FBI Agents Association (FBIAA) strongly condemns acts of violence targeting law enforcement officers who serve and protect our communities. Accordingly, the FBIAA does not believe granting pardons or clemency for individuals convicted of such acts is appropriate,” a statement from the union said Wednesday.
The Fraternal Order of Police, who endorsed Trump in the 2024 election, and The International Association of Chiefs of Police also criticized the pardons.
“Crimes against law enforcement are not just attacks on individuals or public safety — they are attacks on society and undermine the rule of law,” the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Fraternal Order of Police said in a joint statement Tuesday. “Allowing those convicted of these crimes to be released early diminishes accountability and devalues the sacrifices made by courageous law enforcement officers and their families. When perpetrators of crimes, especially serious crimes, are not held fully accountable, it sends a dangerous message that the consequences for attacking law enforcement are not severe, potentially emboldening others to commit similar acts of violence.”
Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee during her confirmation hearing for U.S. Attorney General in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on January 15, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Donald Trump’s attorney general nominee Pam Bondi vowed she would remove politics from the Department of Justice during the first day of her confirmation hearing, though her refusal to answer key questions about Trump’s 2020 election loss and his outspoken desire for retribution raised concerns about how she would execute her promise.
With a second day of her hearing set to resume on Thursday, Bondi is expected to glide through confirmation and take on the role of the country’s top law enforcement officer, tasked with implementing Trump’s longstanding desire to reshape the Department of Justice that brought two criminal cases against him before his election.
“The partisanship, the weaponization, will be gone. America will have one tier of justice for all,” Bondi said, vowing that, “There will never be an enemy’s list within the Department of Justice.”
While Bondi sought to reassure the Senate Judiciary Committee about her independence from Trump and desire to usher in a “new golden age” of the DOJ, her refusal to say that Trump lost the 2020 election, defense of her past statement that “prosecutors will be prosecuted,” and openness to investigate Special Counsel Jack Smith prompted skepticism from Democratic members of the committee.
If confirmed, Bondi would lead the DOJ with recently expanded power after the Supreme Court last year ruled that interactions between a president and attorney general are immune from prosecution.
“The fear and the concern we have is that the incoming president will use that loaded weapon, that immunity to commit crimes through the Department of Justice,” said Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff.
Here are five key takeaways from the first day of Bondi’s confirmation hearing:
Bondi vowed to keep politics out of prosecutions, but keeps the door open to investigating Jack Smith
Accusing President Joe Biden of coordinating political prosecutions, Bondi said that she would only bring cases based on “facts and law” and said she has not discussed starting investigations of Trump’s enemies with the president-elect.
“No one will be prosecuted, investigated because they are a political opponent. That’s what we’ve seen for the last four years in this administration. People will be prosecuted, based on the facts and the law,” Bondi said.
However, when pressed about Trump’s claim that special counsel Jack Smith should go to jail, Bondi declined to answer whether she would open an investigation into Smith before suggesting his conduct is “horrible.”
“Senator, what I’m hearing on the news is horrible. Do I know if he committed a crime? I have not looked at it,” said Bondi, who added that “it would be irresponsible … to make a commitment regarding anything.”
In his final report issued earlier this week, Smith denied Trump’s accusation that his work was in any way political — describing the accusation as “laughable” — and assuring Attorney General Merrick Garland that his work followed the “rule of law” and DOJ guidelines regarding political interference.
Bondi declined to answer key questions about Trump’s election denialism, vow to pardon Jan. 6 defendants
Bondi — who helped Trump spread distrust in the outcome of the 2020 election — notably declined to say that Trump lost the 2020 election, raising concerns from Democratic senators in light of Trump’s alleged use of the Department of Justice to illegally retain power after his defeat.
“Are you prepared to say today, under oath, without reservation, that Donald Trump lost the presidential contest to Joe Biden in 2020?” Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin asked.
“Joe Biden is the president of the United States. He was duly sworn in, and he is the president of the United States. There was a peaceful transition of power. President Trump left office and was overwhelmingly elected in 2024,” Bondi said, repeatedly refusing to offer a yes or no answer to the question.
Bondi also refused to condemn Trump’s baseless claim that “massive fraud” corrupted the 2020 election. When asked about Trump’s call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which he asked him to “find” 11,780 votes, Bondi said she has not listened to the entirety of it, but suggested Trump’s comments were taken out of context.
Bondi also declined to comment about Trump’s vow to pardon the rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, during his first day in office, telling the committee she would defer to Trump and declining to weigh in on the proposed pardons because she has not read every defendants’ case file.
“Senator, I have not seen any of those files. Of course, if confirmed and if asked to advise the president, I will look at each and every file. But let me be very clear in speaking to you, I condemn any violence on a law enforcement officer in this country,” Bondi answered.
Bondi avoided answering if she would disobey an unlawful order from Trump
When pressed by Democratic Sen. Chris Coons about dropping a criminal case if someone in the White House directed her to, Bondi declined to entertain the hypothetical.
“What I can tell you is my duty, if confirmed as the attorney general, will be to the Constitution and the United States of America, and the most important oath, part of that oath that I will take are the last four words, ‘So help me God.’”
Bondi at one point answered “of course” when asked if she would be willing to resign if asked to do something improper.
“Senator, I wouldn’t work at a law firm, I wouldn’t be a prosecutor, I wouldn’t be attorney general if anyone asked me to do something improper and I felt I had to carry that out,” Bondi said.
Schiff, who had multiple heated exchanges with Bondi, expressed skepticism that she could avoid confrontation with Trump, considering his past attorneys general.
“You may say that you believe that conflict will never come, but every day, week, month and year of the first Trump administration demonstrated that conflict will come. Jeff Sessions may not have believed it would come to him. It came to him. Bill Barr may not have believed it would come to him. It came to him. It came to everyone,” Schiff said. “It will come to you and what you do in that moment will define your attorney generalship.”
Bondi vowed to reform the DOJ but provided few specifics of her plans
Bondi told senators that she aspired to “restore confidence and integrity” in the DOJ after what she called a weaponization of the justice system to target Trump. She vowed that if confirmed, she would answer to the people of the U.S., not the president.
“My oath would be to support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America. The people of America would be my client,” Bondi said.
While her vow to remove politics from the DOJ were cheered on by Senate Republicans, Bondi offered few details about how she would implement her plan across the department’s 115,000 employees. Bondi attempted to defend her 2023 statement that “prosecutors will be prosecuted,” telling the Committee that she would only bring cases against “bad” prosecutors.
Bondi appears poised to be confirmed by the Senate, as attention turns to Kash Patel
While Senate Democrats raised concerns about Bondi’s refusal to acknowledge Trump’s 2020 loss and lack of commitments, her confirmation appears all but assured.
“I know how to count and I know how to read tea leaves. It seems to me you’re very, very, very, very likely to be confirmed, and certainly look forward to working with you and your office,” said Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla towards the end of the hearing.
After the hearing on Wednesday, a few Democratic senators on the Judiciary Committee avoided saying exactly how they’d vote on Bondi’s confirmation, though Sen. Dick Durbin, the ranking Democrat on the committee, said the “odds are in her favor.:
“I would say the odds are in her favor with the majority of the Senate floor. I don’t know if a single Republican is going against her. We’re still going to ask the tough questions today and tomorrow,” Durbin said.
With Bondi unlikely to face a serious challenge to her confirmation, Senate Democrats instead turned their attention to Trump’s pick to run the FBI, Kash Patel. Bondi said she looks forward to working with Patel — calling him the “right person” for the job and defending his qualifications — and denying the idea that either she or Patel would maintain a list of enemies or break the law.
“What I can sit here and tell you is Mister Patel, if he works with running the FBI — if he is confirmed, and if I am confirmed, he will follow the law if I am the attorney general of the United States of America, and I don’t believe he would do anything otherwise,” Bondi said.
(WASHINGTON) — Economists say the uncertainty from President Donald Trump’s tariff threats and mass layoffs of government workers are starting to have a “chilling” effect on the U.S. economy.
“It’s a very difficult business environment, because they can’t plan for what their cost structure is going to be,” said Rachel Ziemba, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security. “It’s adding to investment uncertainty, and some people are holding back on investments.”
Trump has so far imposed 10% tariffs on Chinese imports and says he’ll impose additional 10%, plus 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico on March 4. Trump also says he will impose “reciprocal tariffs” that match the duties other countries levy on the U.S. That comes on top of tariff plans on cars, semiconductors, steel and aluminum. Even if Trump doesn’t ultimately move forward with all his tariff threats, the mere uncertainty has a chilling effect.
“If one of the inputs of your factory goes up by 25%, you might cut your production and say maybe we’ll have to fire some people,” Ziemba added.
Meanwhile, the Department of Government Efficiency’s slashing of the federal workforce across the country “also impacts consumption, because people are losing their jobs or are afraid of losing their jobs, so that might cause them to save more money,“ Ziemba said.
This week, The Conference Board’s consumer sentiment survey found that it registered the largest monthly decline since August 2021.
“Views of current labor market conditions weakened. Consumers became pessimistic about future business conditions and less optimistic about future income. Pessimism about future employment prospects worsened and reached a 10-month high,” said Stephanie Guichard, senior economist for global indicators at The Conference Board.
“Average 12-month inflation expectations surged from 5.2% to 6% in February. This increase likely reflected a mix of factors, including sticky inflation but also the recent jump in prices of key household staples like eggs and the expected impact of tariffs,” Guichard said.
The Canada and Mexico tariffs would have a sweeping effect, since those are America’s two biggest trading partners. It could raise prices at the grocery store and the gas pump. Ziemba also noted that the cost of cars could increase by several thousand dollars.
“Every time a car part crosses the border, 25% tariffs could be very onerous,” Ziemba said. “We could see the cost of building a house go up quite substantially.”
