The House GOP’s “big, beautiful bill” will add so much money to the debt it will force across-the-board spending cuts to Medicare, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
CBO late Tuesday said the legislation will increase the debt by $2.3 trillion over 10 years. That will trigger as much as $500 billion in Medicare cuts starting as soon as 2026.
The congressional scorekeeper was responding to a request from Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), ranking member of the House Budget Committee.
Current law requires the White House to “sequester” certain mandatory spending programs. Reductions in Medicare spending would be limited to 4 percent annually — or an estimated $45 billion for fiscal 2026.
The cuts would total roughly $490 billion over the 2027-2034 period.
Sequestration isn’t a given. Congress can ignore the rules requiring mandatory offsets or pass legislation later that will cut the deficit.
President Trump campaigned on not cutting Medicare and promised his signature policy legislation would not touch the program.
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