Freedom Caucus Chair Tells Steve Bannon Trump Agenda ‘Not Going Anywhere’ Without Major Spending Cuts

Republican Maryland Rep. Andy Harris, chairman of the House Freedom Caucus (HFC), told former White House adviser Steve Bannon Monday that President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda will not proceed unless there are major spending cuts.

Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” cleared a crucial hurdle Sunday night as House GOP leadership seeks to send the sweeping tax and spending package to the Senate by the end of the week. But Harris warned on “Bannon’s War Room” Friday’s U.S. credit downgrade from Moody’s signals the need for deeper cuts before the legislation can move forward.

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“The bottom line is if we don’t get significant spending reduction in line to offset Moody’s downgrade last week, this bill is not going anywhere this week,” Harris told Bannon. “The bottom line is that the ground has changed last week. That Moody’s downgrade, we were warning about it in the Freedom Caucus for really years, that we have to get our debt and deficit in order. They’re whistling past the graveyard. It’s like that never happened.”

“But it did happen. And we have to get back to pre-COVID spending levels wherever we can. We certainly can with Medicaid because the fraud, waste and abuse, the gaming of the system, the giving benefits to two and a half million illegal immigrants, I mean, this is ridiculous,” he continued. “It has to stop. We have a long way to go. We don’t get there by Wednesday. And the word is they want to have this vote Wednesday. There’s just no way it’s passing on Wednesday.”