Fox News anchor Chris Wallace confronted Senator Lindsey Graham, a S Carolina Republican, on Sunday over supporting former President Donald Trump's 2017 tax cuts—which are projected to add some $2 trillion to the national debt—while criticizing Democrats for pushing forward legislation that is non entirely paid for.

Graham, along with other Republican lawmakers, has strongly criticized President Joe Biden'due south Build Back Better Act, raising alarms that it will add together hundreds of billions to the arrears if passed into law. Last month, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projected that the social spending package "would event in a net increase in the arrears of $367 billion over the 2022-2031 menstruation, non counting additional revenue that may be generated past additional funding for tax enforcement."

Then this calendar week, the CBO released some other score of the Build Back Better act, which assumed that the programs would be fabricated permanent. That guess predicted the legislation would "increase the deficit past $3 trillion over 2022 to 2031" if the provisions were extended without measures to pay for them. Graham, along with GOP Representative Jason Smith of Missouri, requested the modified CBO estimate.

Wallace pointed out to Graham during an interview on Play tricks News Sunday that he supported Trump'due south signature tax cuts in 2017, despite CBO estimating they'd add some $ii trillion to the deficit. When those tax cuts were passed, Republicans claimed that the tax cuts would pay for themselves, despite the CBO scoring.

Chris Wallace and Lindsey Graham
In this Dec 12, 2021, screenshot, "Flim-flam News Sunday" anchor Chris Wallace confronts Southward Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham over his support for Trump'due south 2017 tax cuts, which were projected to add some $ii trillion to the deficit. Screenshot/Fox News Sunday

"In 2017, President Trump and all Senate Republicans voted for the tax cuts then that added $two trillion to [the arrears]," Wallace said. "And in fact, you lot talk about budget gimmicks, it used the aforementioned budget gimmick there. For example, maxim that private tax cuts were going to end in 2025," Wallace said.

Wallace then played a prune of White House press secretary Jen Psaki making the aforementioned betoken, suggesting that Republicans' argument against Build Back Better is hypocritical.

"Senator, does she accept a point?" Wallace asked Graham.

The South Carolina Republican responded past saying, "No, not actually." He went on to say that he likes "giving money back to the taxpayer" and that he doesn't similar "spending more money than we did in World War II." Graham said that Democrats are "lying" when they say the neb will be paid for.

Wallace and then interjected. "But sir, respectfully, what Jen Psaki is saying—and a lot of Democrats are proverb—is that when President Trump and you—y'all collectively..."

Graham interrupted, asking: "What's that got to do with annihilation?"

"Let me simply finish," the Play tricks News anchor continued. "[You] passed the 2017 tax cut—that was a lie. It wasn't paid for," he asserted.

Graham suggested that the CBO score didn't project far enough to show that the tax cuts would be paid for—pointing out that it didn't get beyond 10 years. "Nosotros voted knowing cutting taxes we believed would exist skilful. I never said cut taxes—I voted for cutting taxes," the senator said.

"I'yard against expanding the government. They're telling you it doesn't cost anything, Chris. Well the CBO says it costs $3 trillion."

Whether the Build Back Better Act is canonical by Congress remains to be seen. The "human being infrastructure" bill was canonical by the House with a party-line vote concluding month. It now is facing difficult negotiations in the Senate, with moderate Democratic Senators Joe Manchin of W Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona non yet maxim whether they will back up the beak. In order for it to exist approved, all 50 members of the Senate's Democratic Caucus would demand to vote in favor.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, continues to optimistically project that the Senate will approve the beak by Christmas. If passed and signed into constabulary, the legislation would extend the popular Child Tax Credit approved as part of Biden'due south American Rescue Plan in the spring. Build Back Amend would additionally work to address the high costs of prescriptions drugs, expand Medicare coverage, increase options for low-income Americans to purchase health insurance through Medicaid and provide Americans with new child care subsidies, among other Democratic priorities.

Wallace'southward interview with Graham came equally he announced Lord's day that he would be leaving Fox News for CNN+. In a statement sent to Newsweek, Play tricks News said it was "extremely proud of our journalism and the stellar team that Chris Wallace was a function of for 18 years." Wallace called his time at the pop cable network "a dandy ride."

Graham tweeted about the news, expressing his respect for Wallace and his journalism.

"Shocked to hear that Chris Wallace is leaving #FoxNewsSunday. I accept thoroughly enjoyed my time on the show. Chris challenged everyone adequately and tried to give his viewers the best data to evaluate bug," the South Carolina Republican tweeted on Sunday.

"Chris will be missed. He should be proud of what he and his team accept accomplished at @FoxNewsSunday," Graham wrote.