Republican Rep. Mark Harris of North Carolina is pushing the Senate to approve President Trump’s massive spending bill following billionaire Elon Musk’s criticism of it, which led to a full-blown verbal brawl between Musk and Trump.
In an interview with Here & Now’s Lisa Mullins, Harris said he doesn’t want to “get caught up in the personalities.”
“I said from the beginning when I voted for the bill, it wasn’t a perfect bill, but we did see it as a start. It’s the largest tax cut in history. It’s the largest cut in mandatory spending in history. It’s the largest welfare reform and work requirement in history. There’s a lot there that’s good.”
Harris also said he would consider looking at subsidies and contracts to Musk’s companies as part of cuts to federal spending.
6 questions with Rep. Mark Harris
What do you think of Musk, a person you support, criticizing a bill you voted to approve?
“I think all of us are still, even as we’re talking right now, watching this kind of unfold before our very eyes.
“I oftentimes tell folks that one of the things that’s interesting about this administration is the president is always negotiating and it always is negotiating in real time, and the American public’s not used to seeing that and I think what we’ve seen happen over the last 72 hours is really just a disagreement that has gone from policy to personal and things that they’re going to have to work out and come to a good conclusion themselves.
“But from our perspective, I don’t want to get caught up in the personalities, but rather to focus on the policy. I said from the beginning when I voted for the bill, it wasn’t a perfect bill, but we did see it as a start. It’s the largest tax cut in history. It’s the largest cut in mandatory spending in history. It’s the largest welfare reform and work requirement in history. There’s a lot there that’s good.
“Are there things that we’re facing that we really need to continue to improve upon? Absolutely, and that is the $36 to $37 trillion national debt. I came to Washington DC because I have 10 grandchildren, expecting the 11th in December, and I want them to have a country that is solvent.”
How do you reconcile analysis from the Congressional Budget Office estimating the plan will add trillions to the national deficit?
“Well, I think you’ve got to look at CBO and understand that CBO has been wrong on a number of occasions, and my own numbers that I’ve seen are showing for the first 4 years we’re going to find ourselves with deficit spending. But on the back 6 years, we should be able to overcome that in a great way to where this bill in many ways is going to be deficit neutral.
Do you believe there is something to be gained by cutting funding for NPR and PBS, which produces programming your constituents listen to and watch?
“For me, Lisa, it comes back to the bottom line: That I wish that we had all the resources in the world to be able to subsidize public radio or public television, but the fact is, when we have a $36 to $37 trillion of debt, we’ve got to be able to look at the whole picture and find where there are areas that we can make those differences.”
Would you vote in favor of taking back contracts, subsidies and tax credits that have gone to Musk and his businesses?
“Well, absolutely. When I look at the whole big thing again, I have said from the beginning, I hope the Senate can improve on what we did and can send us back even a more conservative bill.
To clarify, you would support a move to have the government rescind the contracts and loans it’s giving to Musk’s businesses?
“Well, I’m not going to give specifics right now. I would have to know what the government was spending that money on and whether it was something that we desperately needed or whether it was something that may fall in the category of waste, fraud or abuse or some way that we’re going to be able to save money for the American people.”
Do you approve of cutting the HIV/AIDS program known as PEPFAR?
“There was a crisis obviously when that was started, when we were taking care of the AIDS epidemic that was happening there in Africa. That was a wise decision to be able to help at that time. But again, we were at a different place as a federal government.
“And we weren’t $36 trillion in debt. While we want to be a blessing to the rest of the world, if we’re not strong here at home, we’re going to lose our ability to really make a difference overseas.”
This interview was edited for clarity.
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Jill Ryan produced and edited this interview for broadcast with Micaela Rodriguez. Michael Scotto adapted it for the web.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
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