(The Center Square) – Passage of the congressional budget on Thursday in the U.S. House of Representatives again reflected North Carolina’s partisan tendencies.
No Republicans were against it, and no Democrats were for it. All voted, sending 10 votes in favor and four against in a 216-214 decision.
The Old North State was a 7-7 split of the two major parties in the last Congress. In November, with new maps drawn by the Legislature rather than the courts, the Grand Old Party was just over 6,000 votes – less than 2% – from taking the 1st Congressional District and an 11-3 edge.
The legislation is pivotal to second-term Republican President Donald Trump’s plans for tax cuts and a smaller federal government. In response to passage, he said it would be the “biggest tax cuts in USA history.”
Republican Reps. Dr. Greg Murphy, Virginia Foxx, Addison McDowell, David Rouzer, Rev. Mark Harris, Richard Hudson, Pat Harrigan, Chuck Edwards, Brad Knott and Tim Moore were in favor. Democratic Reps. Don Davis, Deborah Ross, Valerie Foushee and Alma Adams were not.
According to published reports, the state no longer is represented in the hardline House Freedom Caucus – a voting bloc of nearly three dozen with significant sway. Most recently, former Rep. Dan Bishop – Trump’s pick as deputy budget director – was in the group.
The opposition of the Freedom Caucus nearly derailed the plan overnight Wednesday into Thursday.
On the House floor before the vote, Moore told colleagues, “This is an opportunity to vote for a budget resolution that extends tax relief for working families. If you want to support working families in America, vote for this. It makes permanent the Trump tax cuts. It also provides security for our southern border. It unleashes American energy, and it sets the stage for generational spending reform.
“There’s a lot of fearmongering on the other side. The words Medicare, Medicaid are not in there. That is simply wrong.”
Moore is a freshman congressman – formerly record-setting state House speaker – representing the 14th Congressional District, an area between Charlotte and Asheville.
Ross, the third term representative from the 2nd Congressional District in the Triangle, said the budget proposal will “pay for tax cuts for billionaires like Elon Musk.”
She added, “Their plan will not only hurt economic growth, it will also cause real and lasting harm to the people of North Carolina, not least by triggering the elimination of Medicaid expansion in our state.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security would not be cut. Trump campaigned on the trio not being cut, though Democrats disagreed and said he and other members of the party are not telling the truth.
In context, there are new restrictions proposed on benefits. Waste, fraud and abuse of the systems are targeted. Musk, the leader of Trump’s newly created Department of Government Efficiency, said in a network interview his team’s plans will actually help the programs rather than hurt.
Hudson, in his second term for the 9th Congressional District that is near but not fully in Fayetteville, Raleigh and Greensboro, said the bill roots out waste, fraud and abuse. Additionally, he calls it a money-saver, cuts taxes for families and small businesses, secures the border and increases American energy.
