As the US Senate debates the huge budget bill passed by the House, the problems with the bill have become evident as numerous Republicans begin airing their differences. That the bill would add a massive $3.8 trillion to the deficit concerns fiscal conservatives. That the bill would cause an estimated 16 million people to lose health care concerns others. Medicaid cuts threaten rural hospitals, already on shaky financial footing, a problem for those representing rural America. Meanwhile, the bill contains very troubling provisions that threaten our democracy, about which Republicans have little or nothing to say.

None of these problems seem to concern Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks, who heaps praise on the bill. And Republicans remain united on one red line that won’t be crossed: Giant tax cuts for millionaires must be preserved. The tech billionaires, hedge fund managers, and crypto currency speculators who have contributed so generously to Republican campaigns will be protected no matter what. The richest one percent of Iowans, with incomes above $677,600, would see a tax cut of $78,530 on average, according to estimates of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Meanwhile, new estimates by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office show how this bill finances those tax cuts at the top by taking money from those at the bottom. The lowest-income tenth of the population would see a loss of $1,600 from all the provisions of this bill. In addition to pushing millions off Medicaid, the bill lowers the income threshold for families to receive the Child Tax Credit, rendering as many as 166,000 Iowa children ineligible. And millions of individuals and small businesses who obtain health insurance under the Affordable Care Act will see an increase in health insurance premiums that will cause many to lose coverage.

Miller-Meeks’ defense of her vote reeks of deception. She implies that the tax cuts are financed in part by ending Medicaid benefits for undocumented immigrants when in fact no federal Medicaid funds pay for such benefits because such immigrants are ineligible. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that millions will lose Medicaid coverage simply by failing to jump through the new hurdles imposed by the bill, using bureaucratic red tape to save money for tax cuts to the rich.

But even more troubling are some of the lesser-known provisions drawn from the infamous Project 2025. First among these is the provision aimed at granting the Trump administration near immunity from illegal and unconstitutional acts. The administration is already facing at least 275 legal challenges to executive actions and has openly defied court orders. The only recourse in such cases is for the judge to seek contempt of court charges against those in the administration who have defied the court. This last bulwark against a lawless, autocratic administration is undermined by the budget bill, which prevents a court using public funds to enforce a contempt of court order. Miller-Meeks makes no mention of this provision, of course, on her website. Is she too afraid of Trump to stand up for American democracy and the rule of law?