WASHINGTON: The Republican-led US Congress adopted a budget on Thursday that unlocks trillions of dollars for President Donald Trump’s agenda, jump-starting what Democrats say is a plan to dismantle social welfare in favour of tax cuts for the rich.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said the blueprint would deliver on promises Trump made in his election campaign, including “historic” spending reductions, as well as an extension of his expiring 2017 tax relief.

“We want to make government more efficient, effective and leaner for the American people, and I think that will serve every American of every party, and we’re happy to do that,” Johnson told reporters in a briefing at the US Capitol. But opponents say the framework will trigger a major downsizing of essential services, after Trump’s tech billionaire advisor Elon Musk led a campaign of slashing federal agencies.

The budget resolution raises the country’s borrowing limit by $5 trillion to cover a renewal of Trump’s expiring 2017 tax cuts through 2034, expected to add roughly the same amount to the country’s debt.

Democrats say it is the opening salvo in long-held Republican plans — spelled out last year in the conservative Heritage Foundation’s “Project 2025” manifesto — to drastically rein in the federal bureaucracy.

The budget blueprint, which passed the House after getting the green light in the Senate, sets targets for overall spending and mandates $4 billion in cuts. But Republican leaders in both chambers are eyeing much more ambitious savings of $1.5 trillion, including $880 billion that opponents say would have to come mostly from the Medicaid health care program for low income families.

Democrats have voiced fears that Trump will also break his promise not to touch Social Security — the federal welfare programme for seniors and the disabled that makes up more than fifth of federal spending.

Published in Dawn, April 11th, 2025