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The Republican Party Is a Deluded Middle-Aged Man

The Big Beautiful Bill is a midlife crisis for congressional Republicans.

Jonathan V. Last's avatar
Jonathan V. Last
Jul 01, 2025
∙ Paid

The Senate is about to pass Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill. It’s going to be an albatross around the necks of Republicans. Why are they doing this to themselves? I have a theory . . .


1. It’s a Mystery!

As currently constructed, the BBB would add $2.8 trillion to the national debt by 2035 while cutting Medicaid and Obamacare so deeply that 11.8 million people lose health insurance, and millions more Americans will lose other services they rely on.

The reason the party is having trouble passing this budget is because some Republican lawmakers understand that the Americans most likely to be hurt by these cuts are Republican voters.

Riddle me this: If the bill hurts Republican voters while adding $2.8 trillion to the national debt, why wouldn’t Republicans just spend more money and protect their constituents, too? If they’re willing to go $2.8 trillion into debt, why not spend the extra $930 billion, too, in order to keep their voters covered?

The answer tells us something about the reality of the Republican party.

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