Democrats are fed up with perceived performative stances from moderate Republicans who are concerned that voting for President Donald Trump's massive spending and tax bill could cost them their seats during the 2026 primaries.
Sixteen House Republicans, all of whom represent competitive districts, sent a letter to party leadership on Tuesday calling on them to abandon the large-scale cuts to Medicaid included in the bill. Overall, Trump's bill seeks to cut more than $700 billion from Medicaid and impose requirements that Medicaid members work at least 20 hours per week to qualify for benefits.
“Protecting Medicaid is essential for the vulnerable constituents we were elected to represent," the letter reads in part. "Therefore, we cannot support a final bill that threatens access the coverage or jeopardizes the stability of our hospitals and providers.”
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesperson Justin Chermol did not mince words when NBC News asked him to respond to the letter.
“Spare us the performative bulls---,” Chermol told NBC News. “These so-called moderates already voted for the largest cut to Medicaid in American history — and when the time comes, they’ll cave to their D.C. party bosses once again to give their billionaire donors a massive tax break.”
The letter was released at a time when GOP leadership had set an aggressive timeline to pass the bill. Trump called on Republicans to "GET THE DEAL DONE THIS WEEK" in a post on Truth Social. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) called on his colleagues to "grind it out" and get the bill passed.
"It's just the nature of the beast at the end," Thune told Axios on Tuesday.
