The sweeping Republican bill to enact the core elements of President Trump’s domestic policy agenda would add $2.4 trillion to the national debt over the next decade while forcing millions to lose health insurance coverage, according to an analysis released Wednesday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The findings, which focus on the version of the bill that narrowly passed the House last month, run counter to GOP talking points that the trillions set aside in the bill to extend President Trump’s 2017 tax cuts are offset by spending cuts in other areas and future economic growth to stem from the plan. It was an argument that allowed fiscal conservatives in the House to sign off on the bill. The CBO is expected to release an additional estimate in the near future that would account for economic growth. The scorekeeper did a similar pair of estimates when the tax cuts passed during the first Trump administration. Those estimates showed the deficit impact decreased slightly thanks to economic growth projections — but not enough to erase it entirely. The CBO analysis represents a snapshot, as the Senate is opening work on the bill this week and is expected to embrace a number of changes that would reshape the final makeup of the legislation. But it comes at a moment when GOP leaders are facing heightened concerns about the cost of the plan — worries that drew renewed attention on Tuesday after Elon Musk slammed the measure as “a disgusting abomination.” – Read more