House Republicans: Medicaid Cuts and Public Discontent

The Senate just passed President Trump’s big budget bill, which will cut $1 trillion from Medicaid to fund huge tax cuts for the rich. In a remarkable series of angry tweets, Vice President JD Vance downplayed the Medicaid cuts while saying what really matters is the bill’s massive funding for ICE and migrant detention. It was a striking and very revealing moment: Vance basically told MAGA voters not to think too much about losing their Medicaid benefits; instead focus on how many migrants the bill will end up jailing and deporting! That scam—getting voters to hate on immigrants so they don’t notice that Republicans are massively redistributing wealth upwards—is integral to getting the Medicaid cuts passed. But will voters buy it? We talked to Kristen Crowell, who is campaigning against the bill for the advocacy group Fair Share America. She explains how Trump voters and other constituencies are reacting to the bill in many communities with anger and fear; why the public is not receptive right now to typical GOP attacks on the safety net; and whether this can be converted into midterm gains for Democrats.

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