Republicans have provided two rationales for the cuts in federal safety-net programs they are proposing to pay for the tax cuts and boosts in defense and border-security spending in Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill. The first is mendacious gobbledygook: the claim that they are just going after “waste, fraud and abuse,” which seems to be defined as “things Republicans don’t like.” The second is the dubious but politically attractive idea that they’re merely asking “welfare” recipients to work in exchange for shaking down taxpayers for free health care, nutrition assistance, and housing assistance.

Among the budget-cutting devices the GOP is pursuing this year are new work requirements for Medicaid and toughened work requirements for SNAP (food stamps) and housing subsidies . The overarchin

See Full Page