Conservatives who want to slash the federal budget are hoping they can enlist President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk to their side come January. But last week’s meltdown over government funding underscored that Trump doesn’t always share their fiscal restraint.
Though Trump and Musk helped upend an initial bipartisan appropriations deal loathed by fiscal hardliners, 38 House Republicans later balked at Trump’s big demand in the next bill: a looser limit on Washington’s borrowing authority.
That move is a reminder that Trump exploded the deficit and greenlit billions in additional spending during his first term — two overall budget concerns that the House Republicans who opposed last week’s bill say they want to fix.
After the debt ceiling battle last week, the fiscal rebels, GOP leadership and Trump appeared to land on a handshake agreement to raise the debt limit next year in exchange for $2.5 trillion in spending cuts. It won’t be easy as Republicans try to deliver on campaign pledges that include bolstering border security, slashing taxes and boosting energy production.
For now, fiscal conservatives are banking on Trump being their best hope after losing battle after battle the last two years.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/conservatives-hope-enlist-trump-spending-110000514.html