The MeidasTouch Podcast - Congressman Tom Suozzi on Republican Budget Chaos

Episode Date: February 26, 2025

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on Republicans’s budget chaos that will gut medicaid and take away other essential services from Americans while giving trillions in tax cuts to billionaires and Meiselas interviews Democratic Congressman Tom Suozzi. Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af MissTrial: https://meidasnews.com/tag/miss-trial The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast The Influence Continuum: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/mea-culpa-with-michael-cohen The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show Burn the Boats: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/burn-the-boats Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54 Political Beatdown: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/political-beatdown On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman Uncovered: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/maga-uncovered Coalition of the Sane: https://meidasnews.com/tag/coalition-of-the-sane Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What's better than a well-marbled ribeye sizzling on the barbecue? A well-marbled ribeye sizzling on the barbecue that was carefully selected by an Instacart shopper and delivered to your door. A well-marbled ribeye you ordered without even leaving the kiddie pool. Whatever groceries your summer calls for, Instacart has you covered. Download the Instacart app and enjoy $0 delivery fees on your first three orders. Service fees, exclusions, and terms apply. Instacart. Grocer $0 delivery fees on your first three orders. Service fees, exclusions, and terms apply. Instacart, groceries that over-deliver. Discover the magic of Bad MGM Casino, where the excitement is always on deck. Pull up a seat and check out a wide variety of table games

with a live dealer. From roulette to blackjack, watch as a dealer hosts your table game and live chat with them throughout your experience to feel like you're actually at the casino. The excitement doesn't stop there. With over 3,000 games to choose from, including fan favorites like Cash Eruption, UFC Gold Blitz, and more. Make deposits instantly

to jump in on the fun and make same day withdrawals if you win. Download the BetMGM Ontario app today. You don't want to miss out. Visit BetMGM.com for terms and conditions. 19 plus to wager Ontario only. Please gamble responsibly. If you have questions or concerns about your gambling or someone close to you,

please contact Connex Ontario at 1-866-531-2600 to speak to an advisor free of charge. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. So this budget that's providing massive tax cuts for the billionaires, cutting $880 billion in Medicaid, it's unclear what's going to happen. The MAGA Republicans, some of them are very outspoken even against this. You've got Republican Congress member Thomas Massey moments ago saying that this is going to increase the deficit by at least $328 billion just this year if you take the best case scenario that's part of the Republican talking points. This is what Republican Congress member Massey just said moments ago on C-SPAN. Play it. Are you still a no? Is there anything? They convinced me in there. I'm a no. Is there anything? Look, let me, their own numbers. If the Republican plan passes under the rosiest assumptions, which aren't even true, we're going to add $328 billion to the deficit this year. We're going to add $295 billion to the deficit the year after that.

And $242 billion to the deficit after that. Under the rosiest assumptions. Why would I vote for that? So are you solidly a no? Yeah, they convinced me. I was a lean no until this meeting. Not a no. This no confirms you a no. This no confirms your no.

Why? They're talking points. Look, look, these are not something I made up. This is from, this is the leadership's talking points. It adds $328 billion to the deficit. It adds $295 billion to the deficit the year after that. The only way they get to this magic thing where it's not going to kill our country is five years from now, they imagine that 2.5% growth accumulates. And that even right here, they say they're going to cap discretionary

spending. You think we're going to cap discretionary spending and then spend at the rate of inflation after that? That has never happened. So their assumptions are wrong. But even if you take their assumptions at face value, they told us in there they're going to increase the deficit in 2025 by $328 billion. Let's bring in Democratic Congress member Tom Swasey. Congressman, what are you making of that? It's going to be way more than that, even. It's going to be way more than $328 billion.

He's talking about the rosy assumptions. What they're doing is completely irresponsible, is they are trying to reenact these tax breaks that they gave to the wealthiest people in the country and the corporations again. And they're not paying for it. And at the same time, they're trying to talk about the deficit and cutting some of the most important programs in the history of our country. So it doesn't make sense that the numbers don't add up. It's completely irresponsible. So, Congressmember Swazi, you're from New York's third congressional district. That's actually the area where I grew up in that's in your district. I know that area very well. We're very proud of our favorite son and the fact that you have broken the record for the most downloads of anybody. Sounds good. My mom will love to hear that. I think she's still living in the district as well.

So my question for you, though, is people on Long Island, people in your congressional district and across the country, do they like that Elon Musk and these 19 to 25 year old Doge workers who call themselves big balls are going through their tax records and their social security information and their medical records. What are you hearing from your constituents, Democrats and Republicans? I don't think anybody in America who's paying close attention to what's going on is happy that these young guys who've never been vetted. I mean, there's a reason that we have these confirmation hearings for people to join the cabinet. There's a reason that people get security clearances and background checks because you're dealing with highly sensitive information. And these 20 something year olds who are hackers, who are gamers, who are just looking at like in gaming, you know,

looking for a win, looking for something to get, who knows what they're doing with this personal information that people have? Who knows what the key doing with this personal information that people have? Who knows what the keystrokes that they're leaving behind are? Who's supervising what they're doing? And it's almost, there's such a disdain that Musk seems to have for the importance of government and the importance of these records. And he almost like laughs it off. He doesn't realize how serious it is. If you have somebody in your family who's got a mental illness, or somebody who's got AIDS, or somebody's on SSI, or your bank account, who wants to give out that private information to somebody who hasn't even been properly cleared? It doesn't make any sense to me. So I think that people

are upset by the way this is being done so cavalierly. I'm all for going after waste, fraud, and abuse. I'm all for disrupting things, but you should have a plan at least. You don't fire people who are responsible for safeguarding the nuclear stockpile. You don't fire the people that are responsible for preventing the avian flu or measles outbreaks in the middle of an avian flu or measles outbreak pandemic.

I don't want to say pandemic. It's the wrong word. You don't want to fire people at the IRS when you're in the middle of tax season. I mean, they told the people, they said, we're going to give you a buyout and you can take the buyout, but you can't take it until after tax season because it's too important. We need you here during tax season. Then they went and laid people off. Why are they laying off the people at the lowest level, the probationary employees at the lowest possible salaries? Why not wait for the senior people to retire? Because there's a tradition every single year in the tens of thousands of people, let those people retire and don't replace those positions. I don't understand what they're doing. It's so chaotic.

It's irresponsible. Yeah, I think chaotic, irresponsible, and I think to your other point, just cruel, like just treating human beings like trash. And a lot of these people who work in these government departments are veterans, disabled veterans. 26% of the work for the federal workforces are veterans, 26%. So in society, 5% of people who work are veterans. 26% of the federal government are veterans. We're laying these people off. What about their lives? What about their service to the country? What about the fact that we encourage them to apply for a job with the federal government? And now we're just like taking away their livelihoods. That doesn't make any sense to me. It's like you said, it's cruel. You know, it's not only chaotic,

it's not only cruel, it's unconstitutional. The way that they're doing this is unconstitutional. And some Republicans, thankfully, are starting to stand up and recognize that what's happening is unconstitutional. I think they're hearing from their constituents. Some of them actually have a conscience and believe in the Constitution. And they realize that what's happening now is the executive branch and Musk are violating the Constitution right as we speak. Now, Musk is what refusing to testify and or the a lot of the Republicans are blocking every single time Oversight tries to issue a subpoena or the Doge subcommittee issues a subpoena, the Republicans at leadership are blocking even the debate about whether Musk should have to show up.

I mean, when I've been following a lot of these town halls and ruby red Republican areas, the Republican constituents, they're just also saying, in addition to being pissed that Medicaid's being gutted, their services are being taken away, infrastructure projects are being dismantled. They're just saying, why not just do your job, you're a member of Congress, oversight, bring Musk in and ask him the questions, or what are you trying to hide from us? I mean, that part. I don't get it. I mean, in the Constitution of the United States of America, it clearly says that this is Congress's responsibility. Now, I can buy the argument that Congress has not done its job for a long, long time in trying to clean up a lot of what's

going on in the federal government. I can buy that argument. I'm not going to dispute that. Why doesn't Musk make a list of all the things that he thinks he's found that are waste, fraud, and abuse or programs that he wants to cut, make a nice long list, bring it to the Congress, which is controlled by the Republicans. The Republicans control the Senate. The Republicans control the House. Republicans control the presidency. Bring the list to the Congress and let the Congress implement what you think should be done. But the idea of it just being done with a press release and willy-nilly and no plan whatsoever, I mean, we're not even getting to anything. They've been enumerating these things to try and get everybody all excited because it sounds so wild with no debate. I bet you that Elon Musk gets more in federal contracts than he's identified

in things that he wants to cut. Elon Musk personally and his companies get more money in the billions of dollars, tens of billions of dollars, than have been identified in things that they think should be cut. You know, I got to ask you as well, third congressional district, like all the other congressional districts out there, but I know growing up there, how proud, patriotic the third is, supporting our veterans, supporting our armed forces. So yesterday, when we saw the Trump administration side with North Korea, Russia, Belarus, and Hungary, bringing the United States as part of an access of evil to vote against a United Nations resolution that simply condemned Russia's unlawful invasion of Ukraine on the third anniversary, to me, it felt like a gut punch. What do you make of it? And what are your constituents feeling? Listen, I'm all about trying to work together and find common ground. I will never find common ground on this. I'm so pissed off about this. It doesn't make any

sense to me whatsoever. Trump came out and said that Zelensky is a dictator. That is just complete bull. Putin is the dictator. Zelensky was elected by 73% of the population of Ukraine in an election certified to be a free and fair election by the commission that oversees free and fair elections in Europe. Putin is the dictator. Zelensky is democratically elected. Putin and Russia invaded Ukraine. It wasn't Ukraine's fault. It was Putin that invaded Ukraine, where they are killing people, they are raping people, they are abducting children and kidnapping them, taking them into Russia and telling their parents who are working at the power plant, for example, hey, if you don't do your job at the power plant, you're not getting your kids back. I mean, it's just so cruel and so brutal what they've done.

The idea of treating Putin like, I'm going to go negotiate with Putin and we're going to make a deal. This guy cannot be rewarded for his behavior. What message does this send to our allies? What message does it send to the little countries in the area, Lithuania and Latvia and Estonia and Moldova and other countries, Poland? What message does it send to them that they're up for grabs next when Putin decides he wants to invade their countries because he's not happy with something or because he wants some assets that they have? This is the wrong message to send to China that, oh, you go invade, you go fight. We may fight for a little while, but we'll give up in the end. This is an existential legacy defining moment for the

members of Congress, for the Republicans and the Democrats to push back against what President Trump is proposing here, because we cannot reward Putin for his actions that are violating everything we believe in, everything that we've stood for for decades. And by appeasing him, we're being no better than Neville Chamberlain was with Hitler during World War II. Congressman Tom Swasey, as always, thanks for making me look good in front of my mom and your congressional district. I appreciate it. Hey, congratulations again on moving to number one. Thank you, everybody.

Hit subscribe. Let's get to 5 million subscribers. Can't get enough Midas? Check out the Midas Plus sub stack for ad-free articles, reports, podcasts, daily recaps from Ron Filipkowski and more. Sign up for free now at MidasPlus.com.