No, the GOP Isn't Cutting Your Social Security and Medicare

Think back to 2012 with me: the Tea Party was roaring across the country. Americans were carrying around pocket Constitutions and demanding spending cuts. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan was touting the GOP "Path to Prosperity." 

And Democrats pounced.

A left-wing group, the Agenda Project Action Fund, aired an ad showing a character representing Ryan pushing Grandma off the cliff. 

The Left wailed and writhed, claiming that Republicans were trying to "end Medicare as we know it" and destroy Social Security. 

Fast-forward 15 years, and Democrats are at it again, claiming falsely that the House's 2025 budget resolution will end entitlements. A left-wing group called Social Security Works has been at the forefront of the fear-mongering, claiming on X that the GOP budget would cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. The group—created "to elect leaders who will expand Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid"—posted this nonsense over the weekend: 

House Republicans are preparing a budget package that calls for $2 trillion in cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

That’s TRILLION.

With a T.

— Social Security Works (@SSWorks) February 23, 2025

Trump and Musk are LYING about Social Security to erode confidence in the most popular program in the country.

For nearly 90 years Social Security has delivered timely benefits to America’s seniors, people with disabilities, and survivors!

— Social Security Works (@SSWorks) February 21, 2025

Newsflash: Cutting waste, fraud, and abuse isn't taking money out of the pockets of senior citizens or anyone else. 

Nor is it slashing Medicare or Medicaid benefits. Here's what the budget reconciliation does do, according to the House Budget Committee: 

• Provide tax relief for working families and small businesses; 
• Reverse the Biden-Harris administration’s whole of government assault on domestic energy;
• Rein-in reckless spending that lit the fuse on inflation; 
• Give the Trump-Vance administration the critical resources they need to secure our border and strengthen our national security.

President Trump has enthusiastically endorsed the GOP budget resolution: 

The House and Senate are doing a SPECTACULAR job of working together as one unified, and unbeatable, TEAM, however, unlike the Lindsey Graham version of the very important Legislation currently being discussed, the House Resolution implements my FULL America First Agenda, EVERYTHING, not just parts of it! We need both Chambers to pass the House Budget to “kickstart” the Reconciliation process, and move all of our priorities to the concept of, “ONE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL.” It will, without question, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

In addition, everyone from Americans for Tax Reform to Americans for Prosperity to the Cato Institute has endorsed the plan.

Trump vowed in an interview with Sean Hannity last week, "Social Security won't be touched, other than if there's fraud or something. It's going to be strengthened. Medicare, Medicaid — none of that stuff is going to be touched."

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Fox News, "We do not need to cut a single dollar from someone from Social Security or someone from Medicaid... or someone who actually deserves the money—not a single dollar. What we're going to attack is the waste, fraud, and abuse." 

Even if the GOP wanted to cut Social Security, it couldn't do so in a reconciliation bill. 

FYI for reporters covering the budget debate:

The GOP reconciliation bill cannot "target Social Security" because the Byrd rule forbids Social Security changes in reconciliation bills (that must be done in regular order). All other mandatory programs are fair game. pic.twitter.com/qdGn1IEIO9

— Jessica Riedl 🧀 🇺🇦 (@JessicaBRiedl) December 20, 2024

That didn't stop Rep. Jonathan L. Jackson (D-Ill.) from claiming, "Extreme MAGA Republicans are pushing reckless cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. I will fight every step of the way to protect these vital programs and ensure healthcare remains a right—not a privilege." 

You can understand why the Left has gone into overdrive opposing the budget—it attacks their sacred cows: taxing hardworking Americans into oblivion, keeping the U.S. dependent on foreign oil while pushing Green scams, and keeping our borders wide open to terrorists, cartels, and other criminals. 

To be clear, Social Security needs to be reformed. The House Budget Committee warned in May: 

Social Security and Medicare are earned benefits that must be saved and strengthened for current and future Americans. If lawmakers and the President do nothing, the trust funds for Social Security and Medicare will be depleted by 2033 and 2036, respectively, meaning current retirees will be facing significant cuts to their benefits.

And while the House Budget Committee’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget doesn't make any changes to Social Security or Medicare benefits, the committee says it "provides a mechanism to force Congress and the President to address the insolvency of these critical programs." 

Between the DOGE team slashing wasteful spending—$24 BILLION so far—and a common-sense GOP budget, we just might be on the way to some long-overdue fiscal sanity.