Former President Joe Biden ripped the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the signature piece of legislation of President Donald Trump's second term that Congress passed this week and Trump is expected to sign Friday.
"The Republican budget bill is not only reckless — it's cruel," Biden said in a statement posted on his X account. "It slashes Medicaid and takes away healthcare from millions of Americans. It closes rural hospitals and cuts food assistance for our veterans and seniors. It jacks up energy bills. And it could trigger deep cuts to Medicare while driving up the deficit by $4 trillion.
"All of this to give a massive tax break to billionaires. Working people deserve better."
Biden appears to be mirroring Democrat criticism of the legislation, using emotionally charged language such as "cruel" and "reckless" to frame the bill as benefiting the wealthy while harming the most vulnerable populations.
The House passed the bill Thursday by a 218-214 vote, with all Democrats opposed, after a contentious two days of debate without any changes to the Senate's amended version, which needed a tiebreaking vote by Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday to keep the legislation afloat.
"The staffer who wrote this statement for Joe Biden is lying, per usual," White House spokeswoman Abigal Jackson said in a statement to Newsmax. " The American people rejected Biden's failed policy agenda and brought President Trump in to clean up his mess – and that's exactly what the One Big Beautiful Bill does.
"It delivers on the common-sense agenda that nearly 80 million Americans voted for – the largest middle-class tax cut in history, permanent border security, massive military funding, restoring fiscal sanity, slashing the deficit, protecting Medicaid for those who rely on it most, and more. This historic legislation will usher in America's Golden Age, and even Biden's bitter staffers will benefit from it!"
The bill includes a funding boost for defense, immigration enforcement and border security and makes Trump's 2017 tax cuts permanent, with temporary new tax breaks for overtime pay, tips, and an increased standard deduction for seniors. To offset the costs of the bill, Republicans passed modest reforms to social-safety-net programs such as Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. It also phases out green-energy tax breaks that were included in the $1.7 trillion Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 that was signed by Biden.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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