All posts tagged "medicaid"

The GOP's answer to our gathering health crisis? A eugenicist without the slightest clue

If the Republicans cared about the public’s wellbeing, they wouldn’t have confirmed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as head of the US Department of Health and Human Services. He had no business there, but that didn’t matter. Their top concern has been the wellbeing of Donald Trump.

Kennedy is now giving the Republicans a headache with insane talk of vaccines causing autism and how he had no choice but to fire the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director because, he said, she told him she was not trustworthy. But that headache isn’t borne of caring about people. It’s borne of concern that people might figure out the Republicans don’t care about them.

The secretary was under pressure before he fell to pieces last week during testimony before a Senate committee. More than a thousand former HHS workers had signed a petition calling on him to resign. The pressure only increased afterward. Kennedy’s sister and her son, a former congressman from Massachusetts, added their voices.

Here’s the New York Daily News reporting on it:

“‘Robert Kennedy Jr. is a threat to the health and well-being of every American,’ Joe Kennedy wrote on X the day after the hearing. As a purveyor of misinformation and sower of confusion, RFK is not adequately ‘protecting the public health of our country and its people,’ the secretary’s nephew said. “At yesterday’s hearing, he chose to do the opposite: to dismiss science, mislead the public, sideline experts and sow confusion.’

The Daily News report added: “The essential values of ‘moral clarity, scientific expertise, and leadership rooted in fact’ required of anyone taking on current challenges to public health in the US are simply ‘not present in the Secretary’s office,’ Joe Kennedy said. ‘He must resign.’”

But even if he resigned today, the fact remains that the Republicans who confirmed him still don’t care about public health. In addition to taking away Medicaid benefits from millions of people over the next decade, there’s the immediate emergency facing anyone who buys their health insurance through state exchanges (aka “Obamacare”).

If the congressional Republicans do nothing, and no one expects them to do anything, there are about 20 million enrollees in the Affordable Care Act marketplaces who will see their monthly premiums jump by an average of 75 percent, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

And that’s if they’re lucky.

Charles Gaba, a health policy expert and founder of ACAsignups.net, told me in an interview last week (see below) that some people who are currently getting expanded federal subsidies could see their monthly premiums jump by “100 percent, 200 percent, 300 percent or more.”

Charles explained “there are two main reasons for this: congressional Republicans allowing the improved tax credits which have been in place since 2021 to expire, and the Trump administration changing the underlying ACA tax credit formula to make it even less generous yet.”

The Obamacare crisis won’t happen gradually over 10 years, like the Medicaid crisis will. It will happen over the next four months if congressional Republicans do not act by the end of this month.

Congressional Democrats, meanwhile, are trying to ramp up the pressure on their Republican colleagues by getting insurance providers to inform enrollees in September what’s going to happen.

In a letter, Democratic senators including Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told insurers “individuals and families need clear, direct information from their health plans as soon as possible about their rising premiums and cost-sharing requirements, and worsening coverage.” They said the info should be sent "as early and directly as possible … Under these dire circumstances, annual premium notices set to be released in October will not come soon enough."

Axios said some Republicans are open to extensions “but they're also worried about the projected $335 billion cost over 10 years.”

That, my friend, is the tell.

The Republicans took one trillion dollars away from Medicaid and food stamps to cut taxes for rich people who will never notice their taxes were cut. Before that, the Republicans confirmed a conspiracy theorist, crank and weirdo as secretary of health and human services.

Do you think they’re really concerned about the public’s concern?

“There's still a small chance of Congress extending the tax credits this month, but it's unlikely,” Gaba told me, “and even if they do, I expect them to either weaken them, include a poison pill provision so they can blame a failure to extend them on Democrats, or both.”

JS: Lots of people still don't know they are going to be facing an enormous spike in their premiums. How bad is it going to be?

CG: Very, very bad.

As you know, I've spent the past several months shouting from the rooftops that tens of millions of Americans (around 23 million, give or take) enrolled in individual market health insurance policies are facing massive net premium increases starting January 1, 2026.

The increases will range widely depending on a variety of factors, of course, including where they live, what their household income is, how old they are and what policy they're currently enrolled in.

Overall, I estimate gross premium hikes (for those not currently receiving subsidies) will average around 23 percent, while the healthcare policy analysts at KFF estimate that net increases – that is, what the enrollees actually pay after federal tax credits are applied – will increase by an average of 75 percent nationally.

There's about 1.8 million unsubsidized enrollees on-exchange and 1-2 million off-exchange, who will be hit with the 23 percent average.

Meanwhile, there's around 21 million currently subsidized enrollees who will face the 75 percent average … and again, in many cases it will be much more than that: 100 percent, 200 percent, 300 percent or more for the same policy they're currently enrolled in.

There are two main reasons for this: congressional Republicans allowing the improved tax credits, which have been in place since 2021, to expire, and the Trump administration changing the underlying ACA tax credit formula to make it even less generous yet.

There's still a small chance of the Congress extending the tax credits this month, but it's unlikely, and even if they do, I expect them to either weaken them, include a poison pill provision so they can blame a failure to extend them on Democrats, or both.

Again, this will be happening well before the midterms, starting Jan. 1, 2026 – less than four months from now. And yes, my own family is among those facing this, as are you, as I understand it.

Kennedy testified last week. If you were a Senate Democrat, what would you have asked him about exploding insurance premiums?

To resign.

Seriously.

I thought about another long-winded answer, but there's no longer any point in arguing or debating his justifications for what he's done.

He's a eugenicist without the slightest clue about protecting the public from legitimate health crises and who, in fact, has caused and is causing more of them to happen daily. He needs to resign. Now.

He's going to try phasing out the COVID vaccine. I don't know what better evidence there is that it worked than the fact that we're still alive. Yet here we are, giving this man the benefit of the doubt.

Absolutely. During the depths of the COVID pandemic, conspiracy theorists were making all sorts of absurd claims that they were being "magnetized," that Bill Gates was using the vaccine to implant microchips into our bloodstreams (which is not only insane but ironic, given that Elon Musk is literally installing microchips into people's brains now via Neurolink), that it was supposedly causing Parkinson's-like shaking, etc, etc. All of this was complete garbage.

The boldest claim I heard was that everyone who took the COVID vaccine would shortly be dead, and in the months and years that followed, any time a public figure passed away from any cause (old age, hit by a car, whatever), somehow that "proved" their claim, which is absurd. Over 270 million Americans have received at least one COVID vaccine. Yet the vast majority of us are doing fine four years later.

It's absolute lunacy, doubly so when you consider that Operation Warp Speed — the public-private partnership by the first Trump administration to accelerate the development of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines — was a massive, legitimate success, which the Trump administration can sincerely claim bragging rights for. Yet somehow, his own base has decided that the very product of that success is some sort of liberal/Democratic conspiracy. Absolute madness.

The press corps can't be let off the hook. I can't count how many times I have read the phrase "vaccine skeptic," as if Kennedy is considerate and thoughtful, rather than liars and scammers. I don't know how to get truth-tellers to privilege facts over lies. Do you?

One of the reasons I've gained whatever respect I have for my healthcare data wonkery over the past decade-plus is that I do my best to use reliable sources. I cite those sources and when I make a mistake (which does happen from time to time), I do my best to own up to it, correct it and explain how I got it wrong.

While there are exceptions, a large portion of the press corps has allowed themselves to become bothsides stenographers who mindlessly repeat whatever drivel comes out of the mouths of Trump, Kennedy, Mehmet Oz and other charlatans in this administration. In many cases they're continuing to do this even as the Trump administration defunds, bullies and extorts their own organizations.

Unfortunately, I don't know how to get them to change their behavior; all I can control is my own, including doing the best I can to get my own data analysis and reporting right.

The erosion of science (vaccines), the erosion of health care (Obamacare), the erosion of the safety net (Medicaid). It's like the Republicans don't care about public health at all unless it affects them personally, and perhaps not even then (in the case of mass shootings). If people die, they die. Thoughts and prayers. Yet they enjoy a reputation for caring about people. How did this happen?

I don't think it was any one thing; racism and misogyny have played a major role, of course, along with decades of attacks on public education and on education in general. Regardless of what got the ball rolling, though, that it gained momentum makes perfect sense to me.

When the Republican Party started to become a slave to its most extreme elements, it started scaring away its genuinely sane, decent members, which, in turn, made those who remain more extreme and awful on average, which scares off more moderates, turning those who remain more extreme yet, and so on.

If this was the only part of the equation, it would be a recipe for the death of the party. However, the other factor is that as it's scaring off more and more moderate voices, it's also attracting more extreme members who had previously been shunned by both major parties.

Once Donald Trump came along, the floodgates were opened – he welcomed in and praised the most awful, racist, bat---- members of society. So here we are — with a Republican Party that seems to consist of almost nothing but the worst dregs of society.

These heartless GOP cuts put my daughter's life in danger

In Minnesota and across the nation, hardworking families like mine are bracing for impact after our Republican members of Congress voted to cut spending on Medicaid by $1 trillion over the next decade.


As a result, 17 million Americans will have coverage ripped away from them, all for tax breaks whose biggest beneficiaries will be billionaires and big corporations.

The latest estimate reported by the Minnesota Reformer shows at least 140,000 Minnesotans will lose coverage. The consequences of this bill will be felt for years to come, but some of its worst provisions will take effect in a matter of months.

Families like mine rely on Medicaid to keep our children, and our loved ones, healthy.

Our family receives Medicaid for our 11 year old daughter. She has a primary immune deficiency as well as a tethered spinal cord. Her medication costs over $75,000 a year, which we could not afford on our own or with my husband’s insurance.

Medicaid helps my daughter maintain her health so she does not end up critically ill with severe infections. It also prevents hospital visits and allows her to remain in school. Medicaid also helps cover the costs to monitor her tethered spinal cord and provide her with life-changing physical therapy. Without it, she could be at risk of losing her ability to be mobile.

Medicaid has changed her life.

Starting in 2026, families in Minnesota will feel the full force of the severe health care cuts.

First, premiums and out-of-pocket costs will skyrocket for people who purchase their own health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, and many will lose coverage altogether due to miles of red tape.

Then, devastating cuts to Medicaid will begin to take effect. The savings are expected to come from pushing people off Medicaid through increasing eligibility verification. If we don’t vigilantly submit the correct paperwork, my daughter could lose her coverage.

At risk are hospitals whose patients are on Medicaid; seniors who need Medicaid for their nursing home care; and people fighting addiction or cancer.

Costs will skyrocket across the board: Minnesotans will be forced to travel further for maternity care and emergency rooms, face longer wait times due to hospital closures, and it will be harder for families to get covered and stay covered.

I fear for my daughter’s future — and for the millions of Minnesotans who rely on Medicaid to live. She did not ask for this. Nothing we did caused this. She was simply born with it. Both my husband and I are hard-working, tax-paying citizens that just happen to have a child with complex medical needs. For my daughter, this isn’t just about policy; it’s about survival. Without Medicaid, she loses access to the treatment that keeps her healthy, in school and full of life.

The damage will be felt in every corner of the country, including across Minnesota. In addition to people losing their health coverage, our local economy will suffer, with 18,000 jobs at risk in Minnesota due to these cuts.

Now that the bill is law, President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans fully own the consequences. They jammed it through despite the fact that the American people overwhelmingly disapprove of these cuts.

When our premiums spike and out-of-pocket costs soar, families like mine will remember their vote. When we have nowhere to go for treatment, we’ll remember their vote. When our coverage is ripped away, we’ll remember their vote. When the obituaries pile up because people can no longer afford the care they need to stay alive, we’ll remember their vote.

Congressional Republicans must answer for the fallout.

As a mother, I won’t “get over it” as Sen. Mitch McConnell suggests, and I beg you don’t either.

Want to save Medicaid from GOP greed? Here's how

As members of Congress return to their districts for what is traditionally called the August congressional recess, Republican members will be working overtime to sell their constituents on the benefits of the Trump mega-bill (technically the “One Big Beautiful Bill”).

Republicans know well that this August will determine the outcome of the crucial 2026 midterm elections. In a memo from the Republican National Campaign Committee (NRCC) obtained by Politico, GOP members of Congress were advised:

While the election is still more than a year away, this August in-district work period is an opportunity to go home and sell your work to your constituents. With the One Big Beautiful Bill signed into law by President Trump just a few weeks ago, this is a critical opportunity to continue to define how this legislation will help every voter and push back on Democrat fearmongering.

The NRCC memo advises GOP members of Congress not to let Democrats define the agenda on Medicaid by stressing public support for eliminating waste and fraud and by instituting work requirements for Medicaid beneficiaries.

Polling suggests that Republicans have their work cut out for them. Research conducted for The Wall Street Journal found that:

The findings show Republicans’ challenges in selling the law’s benefits as they try to hold their slim control of the House and Senate in next year’s midterm elections, and the poll demonstrates how Democrats might be able to capitalize on voters’ skepticism to stage a comeback. Overall, the law drew 42 percent support and 52 percent opposition, performing slightly worse than Trump himself in the poll. It generated negative marks from 94 percent of Democrats, 12 percent of Republicans, and 54 percent of independents.

On the other side of the call, the Journal research shows there is support for work requirements and increased checks on Medicaid eligibility. Furthermore, as always, there is support for tax cuts.

Much will depend on how the issues are framed. Right now, there is a lot of blank space for Democrats or Republicans to work with. Polling from CNN finds that only 27 percent say that they have been following debate over U.S. President Donald Trump’s mega-bill “very closely.”

In these times, it is easy to feel overwhelmed and that there is little or nothing that one person can do to make a difference. Nothing could be further from the truth.

This August you have a rare opportunity to help save American democracy by speaking out against the Medicaid cuts in Trump’s mega-bill. Reach out to your member of Congress and find out how you can attend a town meeting and speak out in support of Medicaid. If your member of Congress is not holding a town meeting, stop by their district office and share your concerns with congressional staff. Trust me as a former congressional district office staffer, your presence will be noted.

If you have never gone to a congressional town meeting or met with a member of Congress, it can be intimidating. There is no need to be nervous. Remember that they work for you! Here are some simple tips that might be helpful:

  • Remind your member of Congress that according to the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation, Medicaid pays for the care of fully 60 percent of patients in nursing homes.
  • Tell your member of Congress that according to the American Hospital Association, 40 percent of all the births in this country are paid for by Medicaid.
  • Convey the real-world impact of what cuts to Medicaid would be. Do not fall into the trap of defending Medicaid as a government program. Instead, talk about anyone you know who relies on Medicaid. If you rely on Medicaid, you should share that. Polling data shows that fully 60 percent of Americans know someone who depends on Medicaid. The more personal you make the issue of Medicaid, the more effective you will be.
  • If you live in a rural area, tell your member of Congress that their vote for the Trump mega-bill will hurt your local hospital. According to the National Rural Health Association, “the bill will limit access to care for all rural patients by ending healthcare coverage for rural residents nationwide and putting financial strain on rural facilities who care for them.” Do not talk about rural hospitals in general, talk about your local hospital and why it is important.
  • Provide the “why” in your Medicaid advocacy. Tell your member of Congress that you know that Medicaid is being cut to fund tax cuts for the wealthy.
  • Martin Burns resides with his wife Mary Liz in Washington, D.C. Most recently, he was on the campaign trail for Harris-Walz in Pennsylvanian and North Carolina. He has worked as a congressional aide, journalist, and lobbyist and is a member of the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. and a member of the National Writers Union.

They torpedoed Medicaid already. Is this precious program next?​

Medicare turned 60 years old on Wednesday. Former U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed it into law on July 30, 1965, giving seniors a guarantee of health coverage that never existed before. Prior to Medicare's enactment, it was nearly impossible for older people to obtain health insurance, as they were considered a "bad risk."

Medicare provides universal coverage to Americans over 65 years of age. The law created Medicare Part A as a national hospital insurance program. Part B is a voluntary program for doctor visits and other medical services. Medicare Part C is another name for the privatized, for-profit version of the program called "Medicare Advantage." And Part D is the prescription drug program enacted in 2003.

The Hospital Insurance portion is funded through workers' payroll contributions. At the signing ceremony in Independence, Missouri, LBJ said, "Through this new law, every citizen will be able, in their productive years when they are earning, to insure themselves against the ravages of illness in his old age."

Johnson paid tribute to former President Harry S. Truman, presenting him with the very first Medicare card. It was Truman who, 20 years earlier, had proposed a form of universal medical coverage for the American people.

LBJ quoted Truman's remarks from the 1940s:

Millions of our citizens do not now have a full measure of opportunity to achieve and to enjoy good health. Millions do not now have protection or security against the economic effects of sickness. And the time has now arrived for action to help them attain that opportunity and to help them get that protection.

It turned out that the time had not yet arrived. Truman's proposal failed to gain traction during a time of retrenchment from the expansions of the New Deal, and a Republican majority on Capitol Hill which he famously labeled the "Do-Nothing Congress."

President Johnson's determination to enact his Great Society agenda (of which Medicare was a large part) and sheer political muscle—not to mention solid Democratic control of Congress — pushed Medicare (and its sister program, Medicaid) into being.

Naturally, Medicare faced strong opposition from conservatives. None other than Ronald Reagan made the ludicrous prediction that if Medicare were enacted, "You and I are going to spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it once was like in America when men were free." Sixty years later, we are no less "free" because of Medicare. In fact, having guaranteed healthcare makes seniors and people with disabilities (and their families) much more free — from disease, from worry, and financial ruin.

Today, 68 million people rely on Medicare for health coverage, including 12 million who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid.

Medicare isn't perfect: The for-profit Medicare Advantage (Part C) program is extremely problematic (see below). The Medicare Part A trust fund will become depleted in 2033 if Congress fails to take action to strengthen it. Traditional Medicare still doesn't cover basic hearing, vision, and dental care — which we have been pushing for many years. But most concerning of all, President Donald Trump and his party have spent this 60th anniversary year actively undermining both Medicare and Medicaid.

The "Unfair, Ugly" bill that Trump signed earlier this month slashed nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid, which will strip health coverage from an estimated 10 to 16 million lower-income Americans. The new law — projected to add some $4 trillion to the national debt — could trigger cuts to Medicare down the road.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration is recklessly taking steps to privatize the entire Medicare program. It has announced a pilot project to involve private companies in conducting prior authorizations for care in traditional Medicare. The administration, under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Director Mehmet Oz, also has announced a plan to automatically enroll new Medicare beneficiaries in the for-profit Medicare Advantage (MA) program — a huge gift to the multibillion-dollar insurance industry at the expense of patients.

The problems with Medicare Advantage (MA) have become legendary. Enrollees are basically put into health maintenance organizations run by insurance giants, with limited networks of providers. Unreasonable denials of care are rampant. Patients who become disenchanted with MA plans often find it nearly impossible to switch to traditional Medicare. Meanwhile, some MA Insurers have been overcharging the government for their services and ripping off taxpayers. (Several of these companies are currently under investigation.)

We are watching to see if the Trump administration, which talks a good game about lowering prescription medication costs while simultaneously doing favors for Big Pharma, will honor the provisions of President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, which made myriad patient-friendly reforms to the Part D drug program — including out of pocket caps for beneficiaries and empowering Medicare to negotiate prices with the industry.

The bottom line is: Let's not allow President Trump and congressional Republicans to shred one of the greatest legacies of LBJ's Great Society. We and our fellow advocacy groups are pushing back — and so is the grassroots "Hands Off" movement. But we don't want to be fighting this same battle every time Medicare (and Medicaid) mark an anniversary when we should be purely celebrating.

  • Max Richtman is president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. He is former staff director at the United States Senate Special Committee on Aging.

'Tidal wave on our hands’: Furious voters say Trump’s turning key red state purple

Angry voters in Iowa could turn the state from solid red to a swing state because they feel betrayed by President Donald Trump on issues from healthcare to agriculture.

According to an article in Newsweek, Iowa has "leaned Republicans" for nearly a decade, with Trump carrying the state "by 9 points in 2016, 8 points in 2020, and about the same in 2024."

But that could soon change if the latest polling is accurate.

"Democrats and independents argue that key parts of Trump's agenda — from cutting Medicaid to promoting cane sugar over corn syrup — are alienating voters in this farm-heavy state," wrote politics reporter Jesus Mesa.

Trump recently bragged on social media that he convinced Coca-Cola to use cane sugar over corn syrup in its American product. "This will be a very good move by them — You’ll see. It’s just better!" he wrote.

One corn and soybean farmer told Newsweek the "move was 'a betrayal' of Trump's own 'America First' pledge."

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Julie Stauch told Newsweek, "People on the ground here are definitely very angry about a wide variety of things Republicans are doing. They're allowing themselves to be intimidated by a bully... but voters feel the impact of those decisions."

Of particular issue to Iowans are "Medicaid cuts, clean water problems, and declining support for public schools," Mesa wrote, adding that "Stauch likened the voter mood to a tsunami gathering offshore."

"By the time we get to the election, I think we're going to find out we have a tidal wave on our hands," Stauch said. "People are pissed off. They're angry."

Read the Newsweek article here.

It’s not enough Trump slashes tax for the rich: here's how he punishes the poor

The income tax, corporate tax, and estate tax raise revenue for our collective needs and do so progressively, falling most heavily on those most able to pay. These are the funding sources Republicans chose to attack in their megabill. That’s why the law’s huge giveaways go so resoundingly to the uber-rich. All told, the richest 1 percent – a group with incomes exceeding $916,900 per year – will get a trillion dollars in tax cuts over the next decade. Find the average annual gift to the wealthiest 1 percent in your state here.

More than 70 percent of this law’s tax cuts go to the richest fifth of people, while middle-income Americans get just 10 percent and the poorest fifth get less than 1 percent. And for 80 percent of Americans, Trump’s tariffs will offset most or all of the tax cuts by raising prices on things we all buy.

It’s not enough that Trump slashes taxes on the rich. He partially pays for those cuts in ways that punish poor and working-class people.

The new law makes the biggest reductions to health care in American history – stripping insurance coverage from 17 million Americans by kicking them off of Medicaid and taking away their Affordable Care Act subsidies. On top of booting people off health care, this will force near immediate closure of more than 300 rural hospitals.

The second major funding source literally takes food from hungry families by slashing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (once known as food stamps), a program that provided a meager but essential $2.84 per person per meal last year. These are the biggest attacks on food aid in history, abandoning a core federal commitment to provide at least minimal nutrition to the elderly, disabled people, and the very poorest children.

The final major spending cuts end incentives that were sparking jobs and investments in the green energy economy. This threatens 4,500 clean energy projects, imperils hundreds of thousands of jobs, and is projected to add billions of dollars to Americans’ annual energy costs. The subsidies were reducing the carbon emissions that contribute to climate change. Gutting them is a baffling choice as hurricane season bears down on coastal regions. They also were strengthening domestic energy production, making the U.S. less dependent on oil suppliers in the middle east and elsewhere.

Despite spending cuts, the bill will add trillions over the next decade to the national debt. This will shift costs onto the next generation, making it more expensive to borrow to buy a home, finance college, or even purchase the basics.

My father-in-law lived a great life in part because of taxes. His generation – particularly white men in his generation – benefitted from growing investments in public schools, affordable college, a GI bill that made housing and higher education even more manageable, a skyrocketing economy, and plentiful jobs often with unions, wage growth, and sometimes, as in his case, great health insurance and a full pension.

None of the benefits of the boomer generation were distributed equally and Black Americans were particularly left out. And starting with Ronald Reagan’s assault on unions, job quality deteriorated, with health coverage and pensions eroding particularly for workers without a college degree.

But make no mistake, President Trump and his Congress have guaranteed that fewer Americans will have health insurance, more children will go hungry, and states will have less federal funding to deliver good schools, affordable college, and quality roads and bridges.

A hard-working, devoted, optimistic man, my father-in-law had unyielding confidence that America would keep its promise to the next generation. This week Republicans reneged on that promise. We can collectively reclaim it, so every baby born today has the chance at upward mobility and achievement that many in previous generations did. America’s future just got dimmer. We have an obligation to restore its brightness.

  • Amy Hanauer joined ITEP in 2020, bringing nearly 30 years of experience working to create economic policy that advances social justice. As executive director of both ITEP and Citizens for Tax Justice, Amy provides vision and leadership to promote fair and equitable state and national tax policy.

Republicans will die with Trump, or democracy will die with them

Republicans in Congress have just passed Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill.” Widely dubbed the cruelest piece of legislation in US history since the Civil War, it will:

  • Remove over $1 trillion from Medicaid, which will leave 12 to 14 million Americans without health care
  • Adjust Medicaid payments so most rural hospitals will have to close
  • Slash food stamps and food assistance for approximately 42 million Americans, mostly children and senior citizens
  • Give and extend already unaffordable, already budget-busting, damn-near-theft tax cuts to wealthy Americans and corporations
  • Increase the bloated federal deficit by $3.4 trillion, which will affect interest rates and our children's cost of repaying foreign governments, including China.

What about the political backlash, you ask? Ever so clever, Republicans delayed cuts to medical coverage until after the midterms, so they won’t suffer any professional or political consequences.

An American police state

Equally or more repugnant, mood contingent, the bill specifically funds a new American police state. Draped in anti-immigrant language, the bill creates a standing army of masked ICE agents, and funds enough of them to terrorize any city in the nation. We’ve all seen the videos of ICE goons beating migrants in front of their children — any one of them could have been recruited from Trump’s applicant pool of pardoned felons.

The bill also provides $45 billion to build new immigration detention centers, a 265 percent annual increase to ICE’s detention budget. This funding level is a 62 percent larger budget than the entire federal prison system, where 155,933 inmates are currently incarcerated.

After Trump was somehow re-elected, despite his well-publicized attempt to block the transfer of power when he lost, he acquitted or pardoned rioters convicted of violent felonies and personal violence against police officers during Trump’s January 6, 2021, uprising. Here, Trump at least gets a nod for sinister efficiency: J6 cultists who thrive on hate in service to Trump needed something to do. They were already pumped up and armed and in search of political violence, why not give ’em an ICE badge? If they were recorded while beating Capitol police with vigor, or carrying a noose for Mike Pence because he honored the Constitution over Trump, all the better.

$1 trillion defense budget will not end well

Trump now has $1 trillion— with a T — to spend on defense. Anyone wondering how he’s going to spend it, after shamefully withholding military aid Congress already approved for Ukraine, should consider Pete Hegseth. Trump’s secretary of defense recently testified before Congress and described how national defense, under Trump, is transitioning from a force fighting foreign threats into a “domestic affair”:

“I think we’re entering another phase, especially under President Trump with his focus on the homeland, where the National Guard and Reserves become a critical component of how we secure that homeland.”

Juxtapose that promise with Trump telling reporters the worst threat to national security is “the enemy within,” ie, Democrats, independents, and Republicans who don’t support him, and it all comes into view. Pan wide for Trump’s new gulag agenda: ICE facilities where migrants, political prisoners and journalists are baked alive, fed to the reptiles, or denaturalized and deported.

Republicans have empowered a lunatic

Trump has been handed the most heavily funded law enforcement agency in United States history. This happened just after the Supreme Court handed him the most presidential power in the last 100 years by:

1. Declaring him immune from criminal laws

2. Blocking federal judges from stopping him through nationwide injunctive relief.

Not only did SCOTUS tell a criminal president he was immune from criminal prosecution for anything related to being a president — FYI, rage tweeting childish threats that endanger our national security at 3 a.m. is related to being president; intentionally devaluing the US dollar to boost his own bitcoin grift is related to being president; ordering the execution of all redheads for “national security” purposes would be related to being president — by blocking nationwide injunctions, they knee-capped federal judges doing their best to block America’s Hitler from doing his worst.

In service to Trump, Republicans on the high court banned injunctive relief, despite it’s use throughout the last 100 years, with no discussion or thought about how, under a criminally insane president who wants to put tanks on every street, it might have been important.

This is not a mandate

Despite Trump’s bluster, which Fox News repeats on the nanosecond, Trump was not elected “by a mandate.” He eked out his win by a margin of only 1.5 percent over Harris, while 91 million voters were so disgusted by the election, or so disillusioned, or so stoned, they didn’t bother to vote.

Trump’s abominable bill squeaked by in the Senate by one vote when JD Vance broke the 50-50 tie. It passed by only two votes in the House. No Democrat voted in favor, in either chamber. Polls show most Americans oppose the bill, which suggests one of the following:

Whatever pep talk they gave themselves, Congress passed Trump’s bill because Trump demanded it, imposing an artificial deadline of July 4 so no one would have time to read the whole 950 pages.

If anyone, including the Supreme Court and voters, doubted Trump’s death grip on the Republican Party, this should remove all doubt. Republicans will die with Trump, or democracy will die with them.

  • Sabrina Haake is a columnist and 25+ year federal trial attorney specializing in 1st and 14th A defense. Her Substack, The Haake Take, is free.

This is fascism

Trump’s 940-page Big Ugly Bill was passed today by the House and is now on the way to the White House for Trump’s signature.

It is a disgrace. It takes more than $1 trillion out of Medicaid — leaving about 12 million Americans without insurance by 2034 — and slashes Food Stamps, all to give a giant tax cut to wealthy Americans.

It establishes an anti-immigrant police state in America, replete with a standing army of ICE agents and a gulag of detention facilities that will transform ICE into the most heavily funded law enforcement agency in the government.

It will increase the already-bloated deficit by $3.4 trillion.

It’s also disgraceful because of how it came to be.

Trump was elected with only a plurality of American voters, not a majority. He eked out his win by a margin of only 1.5 percent.

His Big Ugly Bill squeaked by in the Senate by one vote, supplied by JD Vance, and by just two votes in the House. No Democrat in either chamber voted for it.

Polls show most Americans oppose it.

It was passed nevertheless — within an artificial deadline set by Trump — because of Trump’s total grip on the Republican Party.

Republican lawmakers feared that Trump would go after defectors with public attacks or endorsements of primary challengers.

They also feared withering blowback from conservative media, “MAGA” diehards, and Trump himself on social media.

After North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis announced his opposition to the bill, Trump posted on Truth Social, “Tillis is a talker and complainer, NOT A DOER! He’s even worse than Rand ‘Fauci’ Paul!”

Then Trump pledged to back a primary challenger to Tillis, and Tillis announced he would not seek re-election. Trump called that “good news,” and threatened primary challenges against other Republican fiscal conservatives standing in the way of the bill’s passage.

Other presidents in my lifetime have been able to summon majorities of lawmakers for unpopular causes — I think of Lyndon Johnson and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 — but none with the retributive threats, social media fury, and potentially violent base of supporters that Trump is now wielding.

Needless to say, the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts made America more inclusive. Trump’s Big Ugly Bill makes America crueler.

The best analogy isn’t to Johnson. It’s to the “strongmen” of the 1930s — Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, and Franco.

That such a regressive, dangerous, gargantuan, and unpopular piece of legislation could get through Congress shows how far Trump has dragged America into modern fascism.

'Audacious!' Mike Johnson pats himself on back for passing megabill 'day early'

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) credited President Donald Trump's "big beautiful bill" with creating a "unified government" that allowed the House and Senate to work together toward a common goal.

Democrats, however, were not at all unified behind the bill, due to SNAP and Medicaid cuts, as well as tax breaks for the wealthy. In a record-breaking 8-hour and 44-minute speech meant to delay the vote Thursday, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) blasted the measure and called on Democrats to stay strong in their beliefs.

“Press on for the left behind,” he said. “Press on for the rule of law. Press on for the American way of life. Press on for democracy. We’re going to press on until victory is won."

During his victory lap, Johnson spoke of his "audacious timeline" to first move the bill by Memorial Day — which he bragged they beat by four days — and to ultimately pass the bill by July 4.

"We got this one done a day early," he proclaimed to cheers and applause.

When asked, "Why did you think this was possible?" Johnson replied, "It's a belief. We had a vision for what we wanted to do as a group. It's the great blessing of a unified government."

Johnson continued, "I believe in the people that are standing here behind me. I know their hearts...they will give their all for this country. I believed in the vision, I believe in this group, I believe in America."

Trump plans to sign the bill into law on the Fourth of July holiday.

‘You gotta fight’: Dems declare midterms battle has begun

WASHINGTON — Congressional Republicans are breathing sighs of relief after passing President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.” Democrats aren’t going to let them relax for long, though.

“Are you celebrating?” Raw Story asked Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL). “Happy?”

“I’m celebrating it’s over,” the former mayor of Miami replied.

Democrats believe the GOP seriously miscalculated by falling in line behind Trump on his spending and tax cuts package so many Republicans decried.

“There's something different about this moment that I think Republicans are not recognizing, and that is, people are tuned in more than they know,” Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) told Raw Story.

“People are really, really disturbed by this. This is not what they — even the people who voted Trump — this is not what they voted for.”

Midterms are here

Ads have already been airing coast to coast, attempts to shame vulnerable Republicans into derailing the sweeping measure, which also vastly boosts Trump’s mass deportation agenda.

On Thursday morning, throughout House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ (D-NY) record-breaking speech against the bill before its final vote, progressives could be seen shooting campaign-style videos. Others were live-streaming with concerned supporters.

Now, Democrats are gearing up to make the multi-trillion dollar bill the centerpiece of next year’s midterm elections.

"I will tell you, the last few weeks … there isn't a place that I have been to where people aren't concerned about this,” McGovern said.

“Airplanes, and I trained it up to New York … I had about half a dozen people on the train, ‘Oh, you gotta fight this stuff.’”

With an estimated 17 million Americans slated to lose health insurance under the GOP overhaul, according to the Congressional Budget Office, Democrats are outraged yet hopeful their party finally has the opening it needs to start to win back sizable chunks of the electorate Trump made historic gains with in the 2024 election, like his historic gains — for a Republican candidate — with Black and Latino men.

To Democrats, the GOP isn’t just tone deaf: they say the party is alienating the very minority communities Trump wooed by reverting to stereotypical and antiquated tropes, like increasing work requirements for Medicaid recipients.

“It's the ‘undeserving poor,’ [the] ‘guy playing video games’ and the ‘welfare queen,’” Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT) told Raw Story.

As Republicans delivered soaring speeches throughout the night, Democrats were left wondering if they had been transported back in time.

“I was in the Assembly in Connecticut back in the 80s — it’s like, ‘Wow, I haven’t heard that stuff in a while,” Courtney said as he left the Speaker’s Lobby, just off the floor of the House.

While Trump campaigned as a populist, he surrounded himself with tech billionaires who paid for much of his inauguration. Now many of those billionaires are in his cabinet, others just a phone call or text away.

With rank-and-file Republicans lambasting millions of Americans who depend on the federal government for health insurance or food assistance, Democrats see an opening for good old -fashioned empathy.

“It's fear mongering on others and immigrants. And, like, total bad faith bulls—t takes from the 90s,” Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY) told Raw Story. “I really think people see through it.”

On Wednesday evening, after a cable news hit with a Republican colleague, Ryan said he couldn’t keep it in anymore.

“It's definitely retread BS. I actually said to my colleague after the interview, I was like, ‘Do you actually believe that?’” Ryan recalled.

“In this case, he's from Nebraska. He's got 100,000 people on Medicaid. Like, do you really believe that all those people are lazy and unemployed?”

Ryan’s starting to think many Republicans actually believe their own rhetoric.

“I actually think they lie to themselves and don't actually wrestle with it,” Ryan said. “So it's pathetic.”

‘The old rhetoric is the new rhetoric’

On Capitol Hill, partisanship has become so bitter, there’s not much that shocks veterans like 14-term Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA).

That’s why Sherman says he’s not surprised when Republicans perpetuate racist and sexist stereotypes.

“The very fact that it's a trope — am I surprised that somebody said something that hundreds of hundreds of times has been said before? Nope,” Sherman told Raw Story.

“But is it disappointing?” Raw Story pressed.

“Of course it’s disappointing,” Sherman said.

Disappointing, yes — but also not that different.

“It's like the old rhetoric is the new rhetoric,” McGovern said. “They don't have an original thought in their heads.”

Rather, McGovern argues, today’s Republican Party bends to every wish and whim of Trump.

Take the July Fourth timeline the president demanded of House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), for the passage of his “One Big Beautiful Bill.”

It was a totally arbitrary date, but senators stayed in session all weekend and into the wee hours of the morning, just to appease the president.

Not to be outdone, Speaker Johnson cut his chamber’s annual July Fourth recess short, calling the House back into session.

Just as they did when tanks were rolling through Washington's streets for Trump’s recent military parade, Democrats are rolling their eyes while watching the GOP contort and convulse, scrambling to make Trump happy.

“This artificial deadline is, you know, Trump wants to throw another party for himself. That's it,” McGovern said. “None of these Republicans have a backbone in their body — not a single one of them.”

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