Lindsey Graham Issues Warning to Republicans Pushing Tax Cuts

Source: Newsweek

Published Jan 05, 2025 at 1:51 PM EST | Updated Jan 05, 2025 at 5:56 PM EST


During an appearance on Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo, Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican who chairs the Senate Budget Committee, warned Republicans pushing for tax cuts that securing the nation's borders must come first or else they are "playing Russian roulette with our national security." Newsweek reached out to Trump's transition team and Graham's office via email for comment Sunday afternoon.

Why It Matters

Tax cuts for individuals and immigration are two major priorities for Republicans that President-elect Donald Trump campaigned on in the 2024 election cycle. A big campaign promise that Trump hopes to achieve is the mass deportation of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally. There are differing opinions within the Republican Party about how to move forward with the incoming Trump administration's agenda and with thin GOP majorities in the House and Senate, any disagreements could cause delays in the president-elect's plans.

What To Know

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, informed Republicans during a closed-door retreat on Saturday at Fort McNair that Trump wants to consolidate their legislative agenda into "one big beautiful bill" rather than pursuing the two-bill strategy previously planned by Republican leadership, Politico reported Saturday.

Newly elected Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, had originally proposed a two-phase approach: an initial reconciliation bill focusing on border security, defense, and energy within the first 30 days of the new Trump administration, followed by a separate bill later in the year addressing the extension of 2017 tax cuts set to expire in 2025.

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/lindsey-graham-tax-cuts-immigration-donald-trump-2009932