Politics

(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden and his reelection campaign have seized on former President Donald Trump, in an interview Monday on CNBC, appearing to float “cutting” entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare in a potential second term in order to curb the tens of trillions of dollars in national debt. 

Responding to his rival’s comments from his personal X account, Biden wrote, “Not on my watch.” 

His campaign, which is in the early stages of the lengthy general election fight with Trump, has been highlighting the former president’s exchange with CNBC anchor Joe Kernen, using clips of the interview on social media to argue Trump — who also raised the prospect of overhauling how entitlements are managed — would threaten retirement programs in the White House. 

The Trump campaign has pushed back, saying his words are being distorted. 

“Have you changed your outlook on how to handle entitlements — Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid? Mr. President, it seems like something has to be done or else we are going to be stuck at 120% of debt to [gross domestic product] forever,” Kernan said to Trump in the interview. 

“So first of all, there is a lot you can do in terms of entitlements, in terms of cutting — and in terms of also, the theft and the bad management of entitlements, tremendous bad management of entitlements,” Trump replied. 

“There’s tremendous amounts of things and numbers of things you can do, so I don’t necessarily agree with the statement,” he said. “I know that they’re going to end up weakening Social Security because the country is weak.” 

On social media, Trump’s campaign has attacked the Biden campaign for cutting clips from Trump’s answer rather than the longer exchange. 

“If you losers didn’t cut his answer short, you would know President Trump was talking about cutting waste,” reads one post from a Trump campaign account. 

On the 2024 campaign trail, Trump promised to protect the retirement programs while working to sink the campaigns of Republican challengers Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis, who both floated reforms to the programs as a way to reduce the national deficit before the two separately dropped out. 

“Cut waste, fraud and abuse everywhere that we can find it and there’s plenty of it,” Trump said in a campaign video from January 2023. “But do not cut the benefits our seniors worked for and paid for their entire lives. Save Social Security, don’t destroy it.” 

At a rally earlier this month in Richmond, Virginia, Trump contended it was Biden who would threaten the programs, telling supporters, ” I will not let him destroy Social Security” and “I will not let him crash Medicare.” 

The White House weighed in on Trump’s comments on Monday as well, saying they align with his budget proposals while he was president, despite Trump’s claims of misrepresentation. 

Biden on Monday unveiled his own budget proposal for the coming fiscal year. Though the plan is unlikely to influence the divided Congress, it serves as a way for Biden to highlight election year priorities. 

He calls for raising Medicare tax rates from 3.8% to 5% for those with incomes over $400,000 while requiring billionaires pay a 25% minimum tax, among other budget items Republicans were quick to slam as excessive. 

Congress will eventually need to act on Social Security, which 65 million Americans currently rely on, as it faces a long-term funding shortfall. But, so far, the parties can’t agree on solutions, as lawmakers also remain engaged in long-term battles over government spending and the debt ceiling. 

“Many of my friends on the other side of the aisle want to put Social Security on the chopping block,” Biden said in his State of the Union speech last week. “If anyone here tries to cut Social Security or Medicare or raise the retirement age, I will stop you.” 

He added: “I’ll protect and strengthen Social Security and make the wealthy pay their fair share.” 

ABC News’ Alexandra Hutlzer contributed to this report. 

(WASHINGTON) — Attorneys for former President Donald Trump on Monday asked the judge overseeing his hush money case in New York to delay the trial, currently scheduled to begin March 25, while the U.S. Supreme Court weighs Trump’s argument that he is immune from prosecution for conduct that occurred while he was in office. 

Trump has not argued the charges should be dropped over the immunity claim, but that the trial be put off and prosecutors be precluded from introducing evidence. 

“President Trump respectfully submits that an adjournment of the trial is appropriate to await further guidance from the Supreme Court, which should facilitate the appropriate application of the presidential immunity doctrine in this case to the evidence the People intend to offer at trial,” defense attorney Todd Blanche wrote in Monday’s court filing. 

The Supreme Court announced last month that it will hear oral arguments in April on whether Trump can claim sweeping presidential immunity for actions taken while in office, after Trump asked the court to decide the matter in the face of special counsel Jack Smith’s federal election interference case against him. 

Trump last April pleaded not guilty to a 34-count indictment charging him with falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment his then-attorney Michael Cohen made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels just days before the 2016 presidential election. 

In their motion filed Monday, Trump’s lawyers said prosecutors plan to introduce documents and testimony relating to a time period when Trump was in office, including statements posted to Twitter about Cohen. 

“The People’s recent proffer implicates presidential immunity because President Trump was President of the United States at the time of those actions in 2018. He made at least some of the 2018 statements at issue — and potentially all of them, though it is hard to be sure in light of the People’s vague in limine description — in his official capacity as the nation’s Chief Executive,” the defense motion said. 

The Manhattan district attorney’s office declined when contacted by ABC News. 

(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden on Monday released his budget for fiscal year 2025, highlighting his efforts to help middle-class Americans get a leg up as the general election kicks off. 

The proposals include restoring the expanded Child Tax Credit, bolstering Medicare drug pricing negotiations, national paid family leave programs, affordable housing and more. 

The White House argued that Biden’s budget would cut the deficit by $3 trillion over the next 10 years, primarily through adjustments to the tax code targeting the ultra-wealthy and cutting to “wasteful subsidies.” 

The budget release comes days after Biden’s State of the Union address, a campaign-style speech in which he focused on contrasting his vision for the country with that of Republicans — namely his 2024 rival Donald Trump. 

“The budget details the president’s vision to protect and build on this progress and deliver on the agenda laid out in his State of the Union by lowering costs for families growing the economy from the middle out and bottom up by investing in all America to make sure the middle class has a fair shot and we leave no one behind,” Shalanda Young, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, said in a call with reporters. 

The policies, however, have little path forward in the currently divided Congress. Lawmakers are responsible for setting the budget, and are still working to fund some key agencies through the rest of this fiscal year. 

House Republican leadership, including Speaker Mike Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Majority Whip Tom Emmer and Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, quickly dismissed the plan. 

“House Republicans reject Biden’s misguided budget proposal and have taken action to steer our nation back to a path of fiscal sanity,” they said in a joint statement, adding: “The House’s budget plan for the next fiscal year, preceding the President’s proposal, reflects the values of hardworking Americans who know that in tough economic times, fiscal discipline is non-negotiable. House Republicans understand the American people expect and deserve nothing less from their government.” 

Asked what in the budget may actually be achievable, the White House declined to get into specifics but said it welcomed working with Republicans on these issues. 

“We’re going to work across the aisle in good faith to try and get these things done for the American people,” deputy press secretary Olivia Dalton told reporters aboard Air Force One as Biden traveled to New Hampshire, where he will deliver remarks on the economy. “We think that the president’s agenda is incredibly popular, and we encourage Republicans to join us.” 

Here is a closer look at what is included in Biden’s budget proposal. 

Health care savings 

The budget proposes increasing the pace of Medicare drug negotiation and bringing more drugs into negotiation sooner after they launch. Last year, the administration named the first 10 prescription drugs that will be subject to negotiations — medications to treat heart failure, blood clots, diabetes, kidney disease, arthritis, blood cancers and more — under the Inflation Reduction Act. 

Biden’s budget would also expand the IRA’s rebates and $2,000 out-of-pocket prescription drug cost cap beyond Medicare and into the commercial market. 

It would also extend the $35 cost-sharing cap for a month’s supply of insulin to the commercial market. 

Child Care Savings

Biden’s plan would restore the expanded Child Tax Credit by an average of $2,600 for 39 million low- and middle-income families. 

It would also establish an affordable child care program for families earning less than $200,000 and a national paid leave program of up to 12 weeks for eligible workers. 

Plus, it would allocate $8.5 billion to states for Child Care and Development Block Grants — the primary federal funding source for child care subsidies. 

Home ownership tax credits 

The budget includes a new tax credit for middle-class first-time homebuyers of up to $10,000 over two years. 

Biden also calls on Congress to provide a one-year tax credit of up to $10,000 to middle-class families who sell their starter home to unlock further inventory in the housing market. 

The budget would also provide for first-time homebuyers a $5,000 annual mortgage relief credit for two years. 

Foreign policy funding 

Overall, the president’s budget includes $850 billion in discretionary budget authority for 2025 for the Department of Defense — a 4.1% increase from the previous year. 

It also includes a request for unmet needs from the administration’s October 2023 supplemental request for urgent security needs through the end of 2024. 

Tax changes 

The majority of Biden’s budget would be paid for by adjustments to taxes, such as reversing the 2017 Trump corporate tax cut. Under Biden’s plan, the corporate tax rate would go from 21% back up to 28% — though it would still be lower than the 35% rate prior to the Trump-era cut. 

The proposal also includes a 25% minimum tax on people with wealth of more than $100 million and would deny corporate deductions for all compensation over $1 million for employees, targeting the high wages of some CEOs. 

Plus, a 39.6% marginal rate would be applied to households making over $1 million. 

(WASHINGTON) — Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Marcia Fudge announced Monday that she is stepping down from her cabinet position later this month — marking only the second cabinet secretary to do so during the Biden administration. 

“From her time as a mayor, to her years as a fierce advocate in the U.S. House of Representatives, Marcia’s vision, passion, and focus on increasing economic opportunity have been assets to our country. I’m grateful for all of her contributions toward a housing system that works for all Americans, and I wish her well in her next chapter,” President Joe Biden wrote in a statement on her departure. 

Fudge sat for an exclusive interview with USA Today and said she is leaving public office for retirement. Her last day is March 22. 

“Don’t look for me to ever be on another ballot or another appointee or anything like that,’‘ she told USA Today. “I really do look forward to being a private citizen.” 

Fudge, who has served in the role for three years, was only the second black woman to lead the agency. 

When Fudge departs, Deputy Secretary Adrianne Todman will serve as acting secretary. 

(WASHINGTON) — Special counsel David Weiss has filed his rebuttal to efforts by President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden to have his nine tax-related charges in California dismissed, slamming his arguments in court filings as a “conspiracy theory,” a “house of cards,” and “shapeshifting claims.” 

In response to Hunter Biden’s claim of selective prosecution, Weiss’ office used his own words against him, drawing from comments Hunter Biden made during his congressional testimony last month. 

Noting that Hunter Biden, in his motion to dismiss the tax case last month, accused Weiss’ office of bowing to political pressure from Congressional Republicans, Weiss, in his response issued Friday, pointed out that Hunter Biden “testified to Congress that the Special Counsel had undermined the impeachment inquiry conducted by House Republicans.” 

“Which is it?” Weiss wrote. “Indeed, the defendant has no evidence to support his shapeshifting claims because the Special Counsel continues to pursue the fair, evenhanded administration of the federal criminal laws.” 

Hunter Biden in February filed a flurry of motions to have the nine-count tax indictment Weiss’ office filed late last year dismissed, accusing prosecutors of selectively targeting him and filing duplicative charges on three counts of failure to pay and tax evasion, and claiming that the statute of limitations had expired on one of the charges. 

Hunter Biden also argued that the immunity stipulation in a section of the parties’ ill-fated plea deal from last summer remains in effect. His legal team wrote that that the tax charges “violate” the terms of the diversion agreement, and accused prosecutors of attempting to “backtrack and renege” on the deal. 

Weiss’ office, in his response Friday, claimed that it was Hunter Biden — not prosecutors — who walked away from negotiations. Weiss’ office “proposed changes to the agreements” after the July 26 hearing where the deal fell apart, he wrote. 

“The defendant rejected these counterproposals and refused further negotiations,” Weiss wrote. 

Weiss made additional rebuttals to many of the other motions to dismiss, which included claims of improper venue and statute of limitations. 

Weiss’ office charged Hunter Biden in December with nine felony and misdemeanor charges stemming from his failure to pay $1.4 million in taxes for three years during a time when he was in the throes of addiction. Hunter Biden has pleaded not guilty to all charges. 

The back taxes and penalties were previously paid in full by a third party, identified by ABC News as Hunter Biden’s attorney and confidant, Kevin Morris. 

The federal judge overseeing this case will hold a hearing on these arguments later this month. 

(WASHINGTON) — Lawyers for former Elle magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll have requested that the judge in her defamation case against Donald Trump approve the $91,630,000 bond secured by the former president, subject to a small change in one of the terms. 

The change reduces the amount of time between the resolution of Trump’s appeal and Carroll’s payment. 

“Depending on the Court’s preference, Your Honor can so order this letter, or the parties can submit a stipulation or other appropriate documentation to effectuate this change,” Carroll’s attorneys wrote in a letter sent Monday to Judge Lewis Kaplan. 

The agreement on the bond is expected to negate the need for a proposed hearing on the matter Monday afternoon. 

Trump in January was ordered to pay $83.3 million plus interest in damages to Carroll for defaming her in 2019 when he denied her allegation that he sexually abused her in the dressing room of a Manhattan department store in the 1990s. 

Trump on Friday secured a $91,630,000 bond to cover the judgment and filed a notice of appeal of the judgment to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. 

(NEW YORK) — New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez pleaded not guilty Monday to obstruction charges contained in a new federal indictment filed in Manhattan that added to the bribery and corruption charges he already faced. 

“Once again not guilty your honor,” Menendez said. 

Menendez came to court alongside his wife, Nadine, who also pleaded not guilty to the new charges. 

Federal prosecutors said the couple allegedly tried to make bribes — that took the form of a new Mercedes-Benz and a mortgage payment — look like loans. The pair allegedly instructed their attorneys at the time to tell federal investigators they thought a mortgage payment on Nadine Menendez’s house and a payment for her Mercedes-Benz were loans when, in fact, prosecutors said they knew the payments were bribes. 

When Menendez and his wife learned of the federal investigation in 2022, prosecutors said they sought to cover up the bribe payments. 

Menendez, his wife and two New Jersey businessmen — all of whom pleaded not guilty to the new obstruction counts — are scheduled to stand trial in May. 

On Monday, Judge Sidney Stein declined Bob Menendez’s request to adjourn the trial date in light of the new charges. 

“From my standpoint, the May 6 date stands,” the judge said. 

A third businessman who had been charged in the case, Jose Uribe, pleaded guilty earlier this month and agreed to cooperate. Uribe supplied Nadine Menendez with the luxury convertible in exchange for the senator’s help, prosecutors said. 

The new indictment, which brings the total number of charges Bob Menendez faces to 18, followed Uribe’s plea. 

Prosecutors have alleged the senator took gifts — gold bars, wads of cash and luxury watches, among others — in exchange for doing official favors for Uribe and the governments of Egypt and Qatar. He is the first sitting member of Congress to be charged with conspiracy by a public official to act as a foreign agent. 

Bob Menendez has denied all wrongdoing and called the prosecution “overzealous.” 

When asked Monday by ABC News whether he would run for reelection, the senator — who has held his seat since 2006 — said he “wouldn’t be announcing it in a courtroom.” 

Federal prosecutors said it would take four to six weeks for them to put on a case. Defense attorneys expect to take at least a week.