'Deadly Kool-Aid': Insiders warn GOP just signed its own 'death warrant'
Two Democratic political strategists warned the GOP on Thursday that they were drinking some "deadly Kool-Aid" by voting to pass President Donald Trump's massive domestic spending bill.
Overall, estimates suggest the bill will add more than $3 trillion to the national deficit over the next decade. It will also kick more than 11 million people off Medicaid and reduce public benefits for impoverished children and the elderly. The House of Representatives passed it on Thursday by a party-line vote, sending it to Trump's desk.
Trump plans to hold a bill signing party on July 4.
"They're going to find out that this is some deadly Kool-Aid they're drinking," legendary Democratic strategist James Carville said on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360.
Paul Begala, a political consultant who worked in the Clinton administration, said the bill helped Democrats find a unified voice in House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). It also helped sharpen the Democrats' message as they look ahead to the 2026 midterm elections, he added.
Jeffries set a record Thursday by giving an eight-hour speech on the House floor to delay the vote to pass Trump's budget bill.
"He focused on Medicaid. He focused on healthcare," Begala said. "I have criticized the Democrats for good reason, but Hakeem today was terrific. They're right to focus on Medicaid. They're right to focus on health care."
Begala also recounted how Republicans lost more than 40 seats in the House after they tried to cut Obamacare during Trump's first presidency.
"I know we're 486 days away from [the primaries], but they just signed a political death warrant," Begala said.