Almost half of the proposed cuts would come from two accounts within the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) that White House officials said expired last year or are not expected to be drawn upon. Once the White House sends the request to Congress, lawmakers have 45 days to vote on the plan or a scaled-back version of it through a simple majority vote. They might need support from Democrats to approve the spending cuts, depending on the health of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). Through a combination of spending increases and tax cuts, the White House and the GOP-led Congress have greatly expanded the budget deficit since Trump was elected. Last week, as aides prepared the package of spending cuts to offer Congress, Trump was demanding more spending, for example, to build a wall along the Mexico border.

Source: Washington Post May 07, 2018 18:39 UTC