ICYMI: At Hearing, Trump Treasury Nominee Refuses to Say Whether Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” Should Strip Away Health Care from American Families
Trump Treasury Department created a $50 billion loophole for giant banks after 2017 tax bill passed, while Morrissey was deputy general counsel
Paying for another $50 billion loophole would mean taking away Medicaid from approximately 700,000 Americans
Washington, D.C. — At a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) questioned Brian Morrissey, nominee for general counsel of the Department of the Treasury, about the cost of tax giveaways to major corporations for American families.
After the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, lobbyists for foreign banks like Credit Suisse and Barclays lobbied to minimize the effects of new taxes on their profits, eventually securing $50 billion in additional giveaways to foreign banks and their subsidiaries. At the time, Mr. Morrissey was deputy general counsel at the Treasury Department.
Senator Warren pressed Mr. Morrissey on what further tax giveaways, including ones in Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill,” would mean for American families. Mr. Morrissey repeatedly declined to answer how many people would have to lose Medicaid coverage to free up another $50 billion for giveaways to the wealthy.
“It's 700,000 people to make up for a $50 billion loophole. It's like cutting off every single Medicaid recipient in the state of Nevada just to fund another $50 billion loophole like the ones you all managed to do last time around when you gave foreign banks this special loophole,” said Senator Warren.
Mr. Morrissey also declined to answer whether Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” should take away money from working-class Americans. Independent analysts have found that the bottom 40% of households in the U.S. would see their incomes fall next year if this bill is passed, while households in the top .1% will get nearly $400,000 in tax breaks.
“That's what this bill is all about: taking from struggling families to give handouts to billionaires and big corporations…I think it’s obscene,” said Senator Warren.
Transcript: Hearing to Consider the Nomination of Brian Morrissey, Jr., of Virginia, to be General Counsel for the Department of the Treasury
Senate Finance Committee
June 3, 2025
Senator Elizabeth Warren: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So Donald Trump ran for President on the promise to lower costs – a promise that he abandoned almost as soon as he got elected. He also promised his “rich as hell” donors that he would deliver big tax breaks. So right now, Senate Republicans are working overtime to pass billionaire tax giveaways – partly paid for by kicking 14 million people off their health care and partly paid for by using magic math to pretend that those tax giveaways don’t cost as much as they actually cost.
Now, we’ve seen this play before. In 2017, President Trump’s first tax giveaway to the wealthy was supposed to cost just $1.5 trillion, and that was after there were a bunch of budget gimmicks to keep the total down. But even that wasn’t a big enough giveaway. After the bill passed, the Trump Treasury Department drafted regulations to implement the new law, and corporations sent armies of lobbyists in to write even more loopholes into the tax laws.
Now, Mr. Morrissey, you were deputy general counsel at Treasury at this time. So you may remember: lobbyists from foreign banks like Credit Suisse and Barclays won a big new international tax loophole for loans they make to U.S. subsidiaries. Do you know how much they pocketed from that extra giveaway engineered in the Treasury Department?
Mr. Brian Morrisey, nominee for General Counsel of the Treasury Department: Senator, I'm familiar with many of the regulations under TCJA, but not the answer to your specific question.
Senator Warren: Not that one? Well, then I will tell you. It was $50 billion, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation.
Now, today, President Trump and Congressional Republicans are working to pass a new set of tax cuts for billionaires, millionaires, and giant corporations. This one, the price tag is around $4 trillion. And this time, they are planning to pay for it – in part – by slashing Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act by nearly $1 trillion and kicking 14 million Americans off their health care. It is handout time for billionaires and austerity for everyone else.
Mr. Morrisey, you’re nominated to be general counsel at Treasury, meaning you would help in the drafting and implementation of this bill – if it passed – maybe adding another $50 billion tax loophole here, another $50 billion tax loophole there.
So, Mr. Morrissey, I just want to make sure that you think through what this means. Do you know how many people will have to lose their Medicaid coverage just to pay for one of those $50 billion tax loopholes out of a $4 trillion Trump tax giveaway?
Mr. Morrisey: Senator, if I were to be confirmed, I would be committed to making sure that folks working at Treasury on tax issues are clear that the policy judgments in this space belong to the Congress.
Senator Warren: That’s not the question I’m asking here, Mr. Morrissey. I know you’d like to duck this one. My question is: when you create a $50 billion tax giveaway, do you know how many Americans lose Medicaid coverage to make up $50 billion? Do you know what those numbers are? These are just numbers.
Mr. Morrissey: Senator, again, the policy judgement is with the Congress and Treasury would be —
Senator Warren: No, it’s not a policy question I’m asking you. If you are going to be over at the Treasury Department and you’re talking about being in a position where you can actually create a $50 billion loophole—and I know you could do that because you’ve done it in the past—I just want to make sure when you’re doing the pluses and minuses of doing this, that you have some idea how many Americans will lose their Medicaid coverage in order to make up for a $50 billion loophole. Do you have any idea how many people have to lose Medicaid coverage to create $50 billion?
Mr. Morrissey: Senator, whatever judgements this Congress makes in the statute—
Senator Warren: Ten? A thousand? A million? Do you have any idea what that number is?
Mr. Morrissey: Senator, if I am confirmed, I am committed to making sure we are implementing—
Senator Warren: Do you not have any idea what that number is, or do you just not want to say it?
Mr. Morrissey: Senator, my role would be on the legal side. The policy side, the weighing of these important issues—
Senator Warren: I’ll take that as you just don’t want to have to admit it. It's 700,000 people to make up for a $50 billion loophole. It's like cutting off every single Medicaid recipient in the state of Nevada just to fund another $50 billion loophole like the ones you all managed to do last time around when you gave foreign banks this special loophole.
And that’s what this bill is all about: taking from struggling families to give handouts to billionaires and big corporations. In fact, according to independent experts, Trump’s big, beautiful bill will take money away from the bottom 40% of families and turn around and shovel nearly $400,000 to everyone who’s in the top one-tenth of one percent.
So let me just ask you one last question and we’ll finish this up. At a time when families are struggling with higher costs under President Trump, do you really think that Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” should take away money from working-class Americans, Mr. Morrissey?
Mr. Morrissey: Senator, I think the tax legislation that this Congress passed in 2017 raised living standards and helped Americans across the spectrum and if Congress decides to take new action I am committed to working with Treasury to make sure we implement that.
Senator Warren: You know, I’ve just got to say: tax cuts for the wealthiest, a $50 billion loophole here, another one there, and so what if hundreds of thousands of people lose their Medicaid and access to health care? That’s what this bill is all about, and I think it’s obscene.
###
Next Article Previous Article