Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill' 'A Gift' for Democrats, James Carville Says
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Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville on Monday said that the Donald Trump-backed "big, beautiful bill" is "a gift" for the Democratic Party.
Why It Matters
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed Congress earlier this month and aims to deliver on Trump's biggest legislative priorities: cementing the sweeping tax cuts, which disproportionately benefit wealthy Americans, enacted during his first term, and substantially increasing funds for border security and immigration enforcement.
The Republican-passed bill pays for the tax cuts and increased border security with deep spending reductions in critical social safety net programs like Medicaid and food assistance.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the bill could result in 11.8 million more uninsured Americans by 2034 and add nearly $3.4 trillion to the federal deficit over the next decade.
James Carville is pictured at Politicon in Pasadena, California, on June 25, 2016.
James Carville is pictured at Politicon in Pasadena, California, on June 25, 2016.
Colin Young-Wolff/Invision/AP
What To Know
Carville made his remarks during an appearance on Fox News, telling host Martha MacCallum that the massive spending package should be the Democratic Party's main messaging focus.
"James, you've talked about, you know, them wasting time on some of these issues around trans sports and all this stuff," MacCallum said. "What substantive thing would you like to see them focus on? Because perhaps immigration is the one, and in what way?"
"The 'big, beautiful bill,'" Carville responded. "Cutting veterans' benefits, closing rural hospitals, raising $3.4 trillion on our national debt. I mean, when you have something simple in a gift like this to contrast yourself, you would be stupid to talk about immigration, or talk about bathrooms, or track meets or anything else."
He added: "Just define yourself that we don't think this is going in the right direction for the United States and the numbers overwhelmingly would support that! But if we keep talking about this other nonsense, we're going to lose our focus."
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries gave a marathon speech railing against the bill, which lasted eight hours and 44 minutes.
"Republicans are trying to jam this one, big, ugly bill down the throats of the American people," Jeffries said during his "magic minute" speech.
"Leadership requires courage, conviction, compassion—and yet what we have seen from this administration and co-conspirators on the Republican side of the aisle is cruelty, chaos and corruption," he said, adding that the bill was "an extraordinary assault on the health care of the American people."
Other Democratic lawmakers also made headlines for their stinging rebukes of the megabill.
"This bill will kill good, blue-collar manufacturing jobs that we need to rebuild the economy in this country," Democratic Representative Josh Riley of New York said during a floor debate. "It closes rural hospitals. It defunds health care. All to give trillions of dollars in tax cuts to your cronies."
"Don't tell me you give a s*** about the middle class when all you are doing is s******* on the middle class," Riley added.
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, another Democrat from New York and one of the most progressive members of Congress, described the bill as a "deal with the devil" in an impassioned speech on the House floor.
Democratic Massachusetts Representative Jim McGovern mocked Republicans for behaving like they were in a "cult" because of their support for the Trump-backed bill, despite recent polling data showing that it's broadly opposed by Americans.
Several Republican senators have also faced scrutiny over comments they delivered regarding the cuts to Medicaid.
Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa made headlines in May when she responded to people protesting Medicaid cuts by saying, "Well, we are all going to die."
Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, former Senate majority leader, also told Republicans during a closed-door lunch in June: "I know a lot of us are hearing from people back home about Medicaid. But they'll get over it."
What Happens Next
Trump administration officials have continued touting the law since Trump signed it earlier this month as part of an effort to sell it to voters.
"It is time for you to have a government that works for you instead of against you for the next 3 1/2 years," Vice President JD Vance told voters in his home state of Ohio on Monday. "The Trump administration promises that is exactly what we're going to do."
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