DNC National Press Secretary Sarafina Chitika released the following statement:

“After a spectacularly underwhelming 2023, MAGA Republicans are gearing up to treat the American people to a rerun of last year’s flops: running up and down the campaign trail touting their extreme plans to rip away Americans’ freedoms while turning the People’s House into an arm of Trump’s campaign and accomplishing absolutely nothing for working families. You don’t need a crystal ball to know that the GOP’s unpopular agenda – from banning abortion nationwide to eroding our democracy and gutting Social Security and Medicare – will remain an electoral loser this year. MAGA extremists may be willing to stick to their toxic New Year’s resolutions, but the American people will reject them at the ballot box yet again, just like they did in 2023.” 

We can definitely expect more chaos and nonsense from the “worst Congress ever” thanks to the MAGA House majority. 

Washington Post: Opinion: “Worst. Congress. Ever.”

“The year began with chaos and incompetence. It ended with chaos and incompetence. In between were self-created crises and shocking moments of fratricide — interspersed with more chaos and incompetence.

“‘This will go down as … the least productive Congress since the Great Depression,’ Rep. Joe Neguse, Democrat of Colorado, observed this week as the Rules Committee marked up plans for an impeachment inquiry into President Biden for imaginary crimes.”

MAGA Republicans are hell-bent on banning abortion nationwide. 

USA Today: “‘A vital role:’ Donald Trump endorses the idea of national abortion restrictions”

Fox News: “Nikki Haley, 2024 Republican candidate, vows to sign federal abortion ban if elected president”

New York Times: “DeSantis Says He Would Sign a 15-Week Abortion Ban as President”

MSNBC: “Despite election results, Republicans eye national abortion ban”

“Republican Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio told reporters, ‘We can’t give in to the idea that the federal Congress has no role in this matter because if it doesn’t, then the pro-life movement is basically not going to exist, I think, for the next couple of years.’

“Around the same time, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina confirmed to NBC News that he plans to ‘eventually’ reintroduce the 15-week federal abortion ban he first unveiled in September 2022. Vance said he agrees with Graham’s proposal.”

Aaron Rupar: “Rep. Bob Good argues at the Heritage Foundation that the reason Republicans lost last week in Virginia is that their proposed abortion restriction *didn’t go far enough*”

And both the 2024 GOP field and Republicans on the Hill continue to push jeopardizing access to health care coverage for millions of Americans. 

The Messenger: “Former President Donald Trump said he is ‘seriously looking at alternatives’ to Obamacare in a new post on his social media platform Truth Social. He also called it a ‘low point for the Republican Party’ that lawmakers failed to ‘terminate’ the health insurance program established by the Affordable Care Act. According to the latest figures this year, more than 40 million Americans rely on the program for those who can’t afford private plans.”

Jack Heath: “They’re going ahead and saying you would repeal the Affordable Care Act, would you?”

Haley: “It’s not about one small policy of, you know, Affordable Care Act. It’s about fixing the entire health care system.”

DeSantis: “Well, look, that was a big failure. Obviously, under the Trump administration, that was a core promise — it didn’t happen. You know, what we’re gonna do is we have this massive health care bureaucracy: pharmaceutical, government, insurance, all this stuff. It’s a total mess. We’re gonna have a comprehensive plan to lower people’s costs, and yes Obamacare hasn’t done it, so we’ll transcend Obamacare, but I think you got to do a lot more than just that.”

Ramaswamy: “I think Obamacare has been a disaster.”

Axios: “GOP lawmakers cautiously open to Trump’s ACA repeal push”

“Two top Senate Republicans signaled they could be open to a revived effort.

“‘I think Obamacare has been one of the biggest deceptions on the American people,’ said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). ‘I mean just look at your health care premiums.’”

“Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), who’s in line to run the Finance Committee if the GOP retakes the Senate, said he’s open to plans that were similar to the 2017 repeal and replace bills.”

“Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.), an ultraconservative, succinctly replied ‘yes’ on Wednesday when asked if he is still interested in replacing Obamacare.’”

“[Rep. Kevin Hern] said of Trump: ‘I’d certainly love to look at his plan.’”

Donald Trump and every 2024 Republican is campaigning on making permanent Trump’s extreme MAGA tax scam for the ultra-wealthy. 

Washington Post: “The former president’s closest economic advisers are plotting an aggressive new set of tax cuts to push on the campaign trail and from the Oval Office if he wins a second term. Trump and his advisers have discussed deeper cuts to both individual and corporate tax rates that would build on his controversial 2017 tax law … Trump’s advisers, though, have discussed proposals to make deeper cuts to the overall corporate tax rate, potentially to as low as 15 percent, or to use the revenue from the proposed tariffs to pay a dividend to U.S. households. Further cutting corporate taxes … would primarily benefit large firms.”

Haley on tax rates for the ultra-wealthy: “Well, I think what I’d like to see is us go back to what Trump had under the tax cuts under him … I was there.”

DeSantis on whether he’d keep Trump’s tax rates in place: “The current rates that are due to expire, we want to keep those rates in place.”

Bloomberg: “DeSantis voted in the US House in favor of the 2017 Trump tax cuts. He has proposed extending the lower individual tax rates before they expire in 2025.”

Ramaswamy on a suggestion to make permanent or expand the Trump tax cuts: “I’d go a little further, Larry, than that, to be honest with you.”

Christie: “First of all, we need to extend the Trump tax cuts. I think those need to be extended.”

Bloomberg: “Christie said he would extend the Trump tax cuts if elected.”

2024 Republicans and congressional Republicans want to end Social Security and Medicare as we know them. 

CNN: “Former President Donald Trump once backed raising the retirement age to 70 and called for privatizing Social Security which he called a ‘Ponzi scheme’ – two positions he has hammered Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for supporting as a former member of Congress and congressional candidate. … but a CNN KFile review found Trump himself also once praised Ryan on Medicare, along with the 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney, without praising their specific policy proposal, which called for similar changes to Ryan’s plan.”

Associated Press: “Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley is proposing changes to entitlement programs for younger generations, opening the door to potential cuts to Social Security and Medicare if elected.”

CNN: “A CNN KFile review of comments from DeSantis’ 2012 congressional campaign found he repeatedly said he supported plans to replace Medicare with a system in which the government paid for partial costs of private plans or a traditional Medicare plan. In one interview with a local newspaper, DeSantis said he supported ‘the same thing’ for Social Security, citing the need for ‘market forces’ to restructure the program.”

Christie: “We’re going to have to reduce Medicare benefits. We’re going to have to reduce Medicaid benefits. We’re going to have to raise the Social Security age. We’re going to have to do these things. We’re going to have to cut all types of other government programs that some people in this room might like.’”
Semafor: “These days, the RSC is best known around Washington as a GOP policy shop responsible for crafting proposals to balance the federal budget, often through changes and cuts to Social Security and Medicare.”