Independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders appeared to evade a critical question posed by an NBC News host on Sunday regarding whether Democrats could have done more to address wasteful government spending during the Biden-Harris administration. The inquiry came during a segment on “Meet the Press,” where NBC host Kristen Welker highlighted a recent budget proposal pushed by House Republicans. The budget bill, aimed at advancing President Donald Trump’s first-year legislative agenda, permits up to $4.5 trillion in deficit increases with the objective of slashing between $1.5 trillion and $2 trillion in government spending. House Speaker Mike Johnson has consistently advocated for reducing wasteful expenditure, pointing out that Medicare and Medicaid recorded billions in spending errors in 2023.
Welker challenged Sanders by asking if the Democratic Party should have done more during their time in power to tackle issues such as the insolvency of entitlement programs. Rather than directly addressing the question, Sanders deflected by turning the spotlight back to Trump’s presidency. “And Trump was in power four years before that,” Sanders countered, while also pivoting to criticize the Defense Department for its alleged failure to pass independent audits, thereby deflecting from the core issue of entitlement spending waste. Sanders argued, “If there is waste and fraud in the Defense Department… we should go after waste, fraud and abuse in every agency of government. There’s no argument about that.”
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report on April 24, 2024, revealing that Medicare and Medicaid were significantly affected by payment errors in 2023, resulting in over $100 billion lost to improper payments. Despite recommendations made to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the report indicated little to no action was taken to mitigate these issues, as testified by the GAO.
Still, Sanders went on to accuse Republicans of attempting massive cuts to crucial programs such as Medicaid through the proposed budget, attributing the motive to a desire to benefit the richest 1%. He claimed, “What Republicans are trying to do right now is to make massive cuts in Medicaid, over $800 billion… Why are they doing that? Because they want to… provide over $1 trillion in tax breaks for the richest 1%.”
However, Republicans have firmly denied these accusations from the Democrats, insisting that their budget proposal does not specify any mandated spending cuts. Leading up to the budget’s progression, Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, staged a press conference to voice their concerns about the proposed fiscal changes. “The reckless Republican budget will hurt everyday Americans,” Jeffries declared, describing the proposed cuts as the largest in Medicaid’s history.
Meanwhile, since Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), teamed up with Trump on February 3 to overhaul the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Democrat opposition to Trump’s cost-cutting measures has grown increasingly vocal. Despite reports uncovering billions wasted on various USAID programs, some driven by radical agendas, Democrats have launched a series of lawsuits to challenge Musk and DOGE’s initiatives.