The latest economic report foreshadowing the negative impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs is giving congressional Republicans renewed impetus to move quickly on their “big, beautiful” tax cut bill. But if they do not offset the impact of the bill on the federal deficit, they risk making inflation worse and exacerbating price hikes. Voters, and the economy, might never forgive them.

By some accounts, the Republican plan could increase the national debt by more than $5.8 trillion over the next decade. Justifying a massive, deficit-financed tax cut bill under the guise of stimulating the economy is the same rationale that Democrats used to pass the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act in 2021. This was a fiscal overreach that caused inflation to soar and Democrats’ political fortunes to crash and burn. Unless Republicans do more to offset the deficit impact of their tax plan, they risk making the same mistake.