Fiscal hawks draw red lines on Trump’s first big bill, risking GOP support

Rep. Tim Burchett has never voted to increase the U.S. borrowing limit in his life. And that might not change just because Donald Trump is the one to ask for his vote.

Rep. Tim Burchett has never voted to increase the US borrowing limit in his life. And that might not change just because Donald Trump is the one to ask for his vote. “I don’t know that I ever will,” Burchett told CNN when asked if he could support Trump’s plans for a debt limit hike. Burchett, along with several other GOP hardliners, are drawing a clear red line when it comes to Trump’s first big policy package. They say the measure — which is expected to include a raise in the nation’s debt limit in addition to billions of dollars in spending on border security, energy projects and tax extensions — must be fully paid for, and not with accounting gimmicks that even Republicans have used in the past. “You have to show me some reductions in spending. Some real reductions in spending. Not this stuff, ‘Oh we’re going to do this.’” Burchett said, dismissing past GOP attempts at budget reform that ultimately fizzle out. Burchett is among multiple House and Senate conservatives who told CNN they are demanding hundreds of billions — or even trillions — in spending cuts in order to support Trump’s plan. Yet if they get their wish, it’s bound to cause a revolt among other quarters in the GOP, namely among Republican moderates and appropriators who have long protected certain cherished domestic programs. And that could cause the whole effort to collapse. “The more things we pile onto a reconciliation package the bigger the invitation for opposition,” said Rep. Steve Womack, a senior appropriator and Republican of Arkansas. “And I am concerned about that.”