“We have to suck it up”: Ken Paxton privately suggests cutting federal benefit programs to reduce national deficit

Republican U.S. Senate nominee Ken Paxton suggested he would support cuts to federal benefits programs during a private fundraiser with Washington lobbyists last month, according to an audio recording obtained by The Texas Tribune, the fourth leaked clip from the Sept. 24 event.

“There’s no doubt we have to cut some of the mandatory spending,” Paxton said in the recording, a snippet of a private discussion on Capitol Hill that has been leaked in pieces since last week.