Republicans voted to rip food and healthcare away from their constituents to fund tax cuts for billionaires
Every House Republican -- with only one exception -- voted for a budget framework that would gut Medicaid and other life-or-death programs in order to fund tax cuts for the rich. The sole no vote wasn’t some profile in courage, if you were wondering. It was a guy who thought the bill should have taken more money from hungry kids and struggling families.
But this fight is far from over. Last night’s vote was a nonbinding “concept of a plan.” It was written to be as vague as possible, so Republicans could cast their vote and then look constituents in the eye and say “no, I didn’t vote to take away your health insurance! I’d never do that!”
The hard part for Republicans comes next -- because now they have to write a bill that fulfills last night’s promise to cut $2 trillion from the budget. And spoiler: That can only be done by taking away their constituents’ healthcare and a lot of other stuff they depend on. It’s going to be very unpopular. It’s going to make constituents very angry. And it’s going to cost people their lives.
To come anywhere close to the kind of cuts Republicans are talking about, Medicaid would have to be slashed by about $800 billion over the next decade. Quick facts:
72 million Americans rely on Medicaid.
41% of births in the US are paid for by the program.
Medicaid is the primary payer for nursing home care (something felt not just by those requiring the care, but their adult children as well)
One estimate suggests 36 million people could lose their healthcare coverage as a result of the bill.
Let’s talk about what comes next, how we fight this bill, and how we make Republicans pay a steep political price for putting billionaires ahead of their constituents.
—Indivisible * February 26, 2025