Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), once a vocal supporter of Congressional Budget Office (CBO) transparency, dismissed the agency as “very partisan” during a contentious CNN interview on Wednesday—despite previously pushing for mandatory House readings of CBO estimates.
During the segment, CNN’s Brianna Keilar pressed Burchett on his apparent change of heart after he criticized the CBO’s analysis of President Donald Trump’s sweeping “One Big Beautiful Bill.”
“You’re taking issue with the CBO estimate?” Keilar asked.
“The office is very partisan,” Burchett replied, without elaborating.
Keilar quickly reminded him of his prior stance: “So in January 2024, there was a Republican who trusted the CBO so much that they reintroduced a resolution to require the House clerk to read the CBO estimate of any bill. I believe that was you, sir.”
“That’s correct,” Burchett admitted. “But that resolution didn’t pass, so it’s irrelevant.”
The CBO’s latest projection has added fuel to the debate over Trump’s controversial legislation, which would extend massive tax cuts, slash social safety programs, and add trillions to the national debt. The agency estimates the bill could raise the U.S. deficit by $2.4 trillion over the next decade.
Burchett said he remains “firmly undecided” on the bill, but appeared to lean toward supporting it, citing economic arguments made by Trump that weren’t included in the CBO’s scoring.
“He talked about the economic output we would have that was not in the CBO scores,” Burchett said.
He also pushed back on warnings about the bill’s social impacts, accusing the media of fearmongering.
“You’re trying to scare America by saying millions of people will be cut off,” he told Keilar. “You’re talking about people who are here illegally.”
