Slate News What Next | One Big Deeply Unpopular Bill
Jul 3, 2025
David Dayen, executive editor of the American Prospect, dives into Trump's ambitious legislative push for a massive bill that many lawmakers find deeply unpopular. They discuss the bill's potential pain points, including significant tax cuts for the wealthy paired with severe cuts to critical programs like Medicaid and SNAP. The conversation also highlights the internal conflict among Republicans and the broader implications for healthcare and immigration policy, all amidst the looming pressures of upcoming midterm elections.
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Bill's Complexity Breeds Resistance
- The bill is unpopular and was passed hastily, with lawmakers discovering new provisions even after voting.
- It's so large and complex that almost every member of Congress finds something to oppose.
Bill's Extreme Policy Trade-offs
- The bill includes the largest tax cuts in American history favoring the wealthy and huge increases in ICE funding and military budget.
- It simultaneously imposes historic cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, student loans, and reverses clean energy investments in favor of fossil fuels.
Alaska 'Gold Rush' Carve-Out
- Lisa Murkowski secured an Alaska-specific carve-out from food aid cuts by leveraging the state's high error rates in SNAP payments.
- This incentivizes states like Alaska to maintain high error rates to avoid paying into the system, a perverse outcome in the legislation.