Republicans want you to think they are dedicated to reducing the deficit. In reality, they are not. Whenever someone raises concerns about the Department of Government Efficiency’s ineffective dismissals of government workers, the standard response from congressional Republicans is to shift the focus to deficit pressure – this is a common tactic they all use. When questioned about their significant cuts to essential programs, such as soft power diplomacy internationally or healthcare domestically, Republicans consistently cite the need for deficit reduction. However, their claim to prioritize deficit reduction is not truthful.

Recently, nearly all House Republicans and the vast majority of Republican senators voted to significantly increase the deficit. The House Republicans supported a budget that proposed $2 trillion in spending cuts while also instructing House committees to decrease taxes by $4.8 trillion. Simple math indicates that this move would result in a $2.8 trillion deficit increase over a 10-year period. Thus, despite their attempts to appear committed to deficit reduction, House Republicans essentially voted for a substantial deficit increase.

These decisions could result in even higher deficits than anticipated, especially if the Republicans’ optimistic economic projections do not materialize. The Wharton Budget Model from the University of Pennsylvania estimates a potential deficit increase closer to $4.9 trillion compared to the $2.8 trillion assumed by House Republicans. Regardless of the precise figures, Republicans’ actions demonstrate a willingness to escalate the deficit significantly, contrary to their stated goal of reducing it.

The House budget bill is projected to contribute more to the deficit than any legislation passed in the past ten years, surpassing the American Rescue Plan Act, Trump’s initial tax cuts, and the bipartisan infrastructure law. The root of the issue lies in the Republicans’ true allegiance, which focuses on tax benefits for the wealthiest individuals instead of deficit reduction.

Republicans advocate for making additional tax breaks for the top 1 percent permanent, costing over $4 trillion over a decade. Rather than supporting tax cuts for the majority of the population and reducing the deficit by reinstating past tax rates for millionaires, Republicans prioritize aiding the wealthiest individuals. Despite their rhetoric about deficit reduction, the majority of Republican senators also approved a $2 trillion deficit increase, and actual calculations reveal that the deficit could rise by about $5.8 trillion.

Since the implementation of Trump’s tax cuts in 2017, the federal debt has risen from 76.5 percent to 100 percent of GDP. If the tax cuts expire as planned, the deficit is estimated to reach about 117 percent by 2034, potentially rising to 125 percent with the House budget or even higher with the Senate resolution.

When Republicans claim their program cuts are driven by the necessity to reduce the deficit, they are not just hypocritical but also deceptive. If Republicans genuinely cared about reducing the deficit, they would not support the budget bills most of them voted for. Ultimately, the Republican agenda involves sacrificing healthcare and education in favor of rewarding the wealthiest Americans with more tax breaks, rather than genuinely focusing on deficit reduction.