Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) blasted his fellow Republicans for threatening to cut Medicaid to help offset tax cuts sought by President Donald Trump.
Missouri voters decisively elected to expand the state's Medicaid coverage in 2020, and now about 21 percent of residents benefit from that health care insurance. Hawley — a staunch Trump supporter — published an op-ed in the New York Times voicing strong support for maintaining those programs for his constituents.
"Mr. Trump has promised working-class tax cuts and protection for working-class social insurance, such as Medicaid," Hawley wrote. "But now a noisy contingent of corporatist Republicans — call it the party’s Wall Street wing — is urging Congress to ignore all that and get back to the old-time religion: corporate giveaways, preferences for capital and deep cuts to social insurance."
"This wing of the party wants Republicans to build our big, beautiful bill around slashing health insurance for the working poor," the senator added. "But that argument is both morally wrong and politically suicidal."
The president has repeatedly rejected Medicaid cuts, Hawley said, and recent polls show 64 percent of Republicans hold a favorable view of the program, and one in six have personally benefited from it, while more than 80 percent of Americans oppose significant cuts and more than half have a personal or family connection to Medicaid.
"It’s safe to say the Trump coalition was not pulling the lever for Medicaid cuts in November," Hawley wrote. "Mike Johnson, the House speaker, finally woke up to this fact last week, when he withdrew his support from one of the most aggressive reductions to Medicaid on the table. But many of my House and Senate colleagues keep pushing for substantial cuts, and the House will begin to hash out its differences in negotiations this week."
Late on Sunday, House Republicans revealed legislation analysts said would rip Medicaid coverage from millions of low-income Americans.
"Let's be clear, Republican leadership released this bill under cover of night because they don't want people to know their true intentions," said Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ), the top Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
"Republicans need to open their eyes: Our voters support social insurance programs," he added. "More than that, our voters depend on those programs. And there’s a reason for this that Republicans would do well to ponder. Our economy is increasingly unfriendly to working people and their families."
