Marjorie Taylor Greene Lays Out Her Vision for Government Spending Cuts

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, listed a number of suggestions that the United States could make to cut government spending, which included cutting aid to Ukraine and funds provided to countries with "communists regimes."

"Here's how you cut spending while old politicians like Joe Biden, who screwed us all by putting us in $34 TRILLION in debt and have their hands in the air complaining how will we cut spending & reduce inflation & LIE about Republicans wanting to cut SS [social security] & Medicare," Greene wrote in a Twitter thread on Friday.

The country's current national debt is $31.46 trillion, according to daily updated data by the U.S. Department of Treasury. The figure is the total amount of outstanding borrowing by the federal government accumulated over the nation's history.

The GOP lawmaker on Friday first listed the $1.7 trillion Omnibus spending bill, which passed last year in the House, with the help of seven Republican representatives in a final vote of 225-201-1. Biden signed the bill into law this past December to allow for additional government spending until September 30, 2023.

"We must go line item by line item and get rid of stupid spending like this," Greene said of the bill, which she repeatedly criticized in the past. "Irresponsible America Last spending is why we are all in this ridiculous situation to begin with."

The Omnibus bill also provides additional funding to Ukraine to help Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's troops fight Russian forces in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. The U.S. financial assistance to the war-torn country is another form of spending that Greene said should stop.

"We must stop funding war in Ukraine and push for peace! Over $1 BILLION every single month goes to funding Ukraine's government and $113 BILLION spent in military equipment, weapons, and aid with no end in sight," she added. "We are on the verge of defaulting our country's debts and we are in over $34 TRILLION in debt. It's time to give a hard NO to the warmongers and tell the world we can't afford to play war anymore. Our taxes should only be spent on defending our homeland."

The State Department announced in January that an additional $3.75 billion in military assistance will be sent to Ukraine, which includes 50 Bradley Infantry fighting vehicles, bringing the overall U.S.'s security assistance to Ukraine to approximately $27.2 billion since Russia launched its war last February. Overall, the U.S. sent $48 billion of total aid to Ukraine between January 24, 2022, and November 20, 2022, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.

Greene also criticized the foreign aid coming out of the U.S. to other countries that include some nations that have what she called "communists regimes."

"Don't forget about ALL the foreign aid that gets doled out every year to countries that hate us & send their people to invade us. It NEVER helps their poor. It just ends up in their corrupt leader's pockets. We give $48+ BILLION annually to foreign countries!" she said on Friday.

The federal government has budgeted a total of $44 billion in foreign obligations in fiscal year 2022 to be provided to some countries around the world, according to data by the government's Foreign Assistance website, which was last updated on January 20.

"We give China $27+ MILLION in foreign aid! For what??!!! To build their spy balloons that invade our air space & threaten our national security? To steal our intellectual data? To send us deadly viruses? To help pay for their rapid military growth? STOP PAYMENT NOW!" the GOP lawmaker wrote in her Twitter thread.

According to a 2023 chart by the World Population Review that listed U.S. foreign aid by country, the U.S. disbursed $32.50 million to China.

"Other countries that we are handing money to every year are communists regimes. Cuba gets $14.85 MILLION. Venezuela gets $73 MILLION. I would never give money to countries that disrespect America," the congresswoman added.

Other suggestions that Greene made to cut federal spending include taking back "unspent" COVID-19 funds. However, it's unclear whether or not the congresswoman is referring to the pandemic relief money or other funds.

"It's easy to cut spending because for decades our government budgets have been the absurdly stuffed with stupid spending. I always say if I ran my private businesses the way the government runs I'd be out of business & homeless. We have to fix it or soon we all will be broke!" Greene said, concluding her Twitter thread.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, is set to define what Republicans seek in exchange for raising the federal borrowing limit.

In an address to the nation on Monday evening, McCarthy said that federal debt was "the greatest threat to our future," adding that the Democratic-controlled White House and Congress over the past few years had spent as if "the national debt doesn't matter."

"For years, we've watched as Democrats in Congress spent your hard-earned tax dollars like the dollars were imaginary," he said.

Though other Republicans such as Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida made suggestions to cut spending, such as applying "structural reforms" to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), there still is little information about the changes to government spending that the GOP is demanding.

However, with the U.S. reaching its debt ceiling of $31.46 trillion, Congress is pressed to raise the limit before the country is forced to default on its debt.

Newsweek reached out to Greene's media representative and the White House for comment.