Democratic Socialists of America national cochair Megan Romer dismissed a White House estimate placing the cost of the organization’s policy proposals at $49 trillion, but she declined to provide an alternative figure when pressed about the burden on American taxpayers.

Romer appeared on Fox News after candidates supported by DSA made significant gains in the midterm elections. She discussed what those victories mean for the socialist movement and how newly elected officials plan to advance the organization’s agenda.

The White House Council of Economic Advisers estimated that proposals including Medicare for All and student debt cancellation would cost taxpayers $49 trillion. The report also placed the cost at roughly $355,000 per American household during the next decade.

Romer, who said incoming lawmakers associated with the organization would prioritize affordability, rejected that staggering estimate as “outrageous.” She also called it a “made-up number,” faulting the White House for producing an analysis unfavorable to DSA.

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“The White House, who does not like us very much, managed to come up with some math that made us look bad,” Romer said on “The Story.” She added, “But we don't agree with these numbers.”

Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum then pressed Romer to provide an independent estimate for the socialist policy platform. Romer did not offer one, saying the ultimate cost “depends” on which programs are built and which existing programs are ended.

“There's no, like, one, solid number because it depends on what pieces we can build in the meantime,” Romer said. “So it's about building up programs and then sunsetting old, bad programs, and that number is going to shift as we pass various things.”

Romer made clear that she would not supply the solid figure MacCallum sought. Instead, she framed the issue around collective decisions about government spending rather than a specific accounting of how much DSA’s proposed agenda would cost.

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“I'm not going to give you a solid number. That's not what I'm here to do,” she continued. “What I'm here to do is talk about how we collectively can democratically decide how we want our money to be spent.”

The DSA leader also criticized the scale of American military spending. She argued that federal resources devoted to military operations overseas should instead be directed toward DSA priorities, which include amnesty for illegal immigrants and abolishing the Senate.

“We don't believe in having 800 U.S. military bases around the world,” Romer said. “That is an insane amount of money to spend… Our military spending is outrageous, and most of that money is going to defense contractors. It is making a handful of billionaires richer.”

MacCallum challenged Romer’s argument about excessive military spending by comparing the figures under discussion. She said the United States defense budget is only $961 billion, while the estimated cost of DSA policies to be funded is $47 trillion.

That comparison differed from the $49 trillion figure attributed to the White House Council of Economic Advisers earlier in the report. Romer nevertheless continued to argue that providing healthcare to everyone would cost less than current military spending and spending on wars she described as illegal.

“We do agree that it will cost money to provide healthcare to everyone, but it will cost less money than we spend on the military and on these illegal wars right now,” Romer said Wednesday.

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Romer had also defended a broader set of structural changes during a July interview with Fox News. Those positions included abolishing the Senate, replacing the presidency and Supreme Court, and eradicating Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

During that July interview, Romer additionally defended abolishing borders and granting amnesty to illegal immigrants living in the United States. Those positions remain part of the sweeping political vision attached to the organization’s growing slate of candidates.

The exchange left the central taxpayer question unanswered. Romer rejected the administration’s $49 trillion calculation and criticized military expenditures, but she repeatedly declined to provide the public with a firm estimate of what the DSA agenda would actually cost.

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