Trump budget pick: Benefit programs must be cut
South Carolina Rep. Mick Mulvaney also said tax increases would be on the table to help shore up the federal government's largest benefit programs.
Mulvaney's comments at his Senate confirmation hearing stand in sharp contrast to Trump's campaign pledges not to cut the programs. Trump has also pledged to cut taxes, not raise them.
The comments came on the same day that congressional analysts said Trump has inherited a stable economy but a government that faces a worsening debt and deficit outlook. All told, Trump is staring at deficits that would add more than $9 trillion over the coming decade, rising to $30 trillion by 2027.
Such deficits are sure to crimp Trump's promise to cut taxes, and more conservative Republicans may chafe at them and press for spending cuts that the new president doesn't like.
The estimates from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office say the economy will hold relatively steady, with economic growth rising slightly to 2.3 percent this year and unemployment averaging less than 5 percent for the duration of Trump's term.
The agency expects a budget deficit for the current year of $559 billion, roughly the same as last year's.
Mulvaney said he would not propose cutting Social Security or Medicare benefits for people already receiving them. But, he added, younger workers should expect to work longer than their parents. He also said Medicare should be means-tested, which means benefits would be limited for wealthy retirees. They already pay higher premiums.
“I think folks on Social Security and Medicare ought to be really worried,” said Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich. “The alarm bells should be going off right now.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., read quotes from Trump during the campaign saying he would not cut the benefit programs.