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'Performative Bullsh*t': 16 House Republicans Get Cold Feet Over Medicaid Cuts
However, one critic noted that the lawmakers "already voted for the largest cut to Medicaid in American history—and when the time comes, they'll cave... once again to give their billionaire donors a massive tax break."
Jun 24, 2025
Under pressure from millions of constituents who would be stripped of healthcare coverage under the GOP's slash-and-burn reconciliation package, more than a dozen House Republicans claimed Tuesday that they would not back the Senate's version of the legislation if it contains proposed cuts to the Medicaid provider tax.
"Protecting Medicaid is essential for the vulnerable constituents we were elected to represent. Therefore, we cannot support a final bill that threatens access to coverage or jeopardizes the stability of our hospitals and providers," wrote 16 House Republicans led by Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.)—whose largely rural Central Valley district has one of the highest concentration of Medicaid recipients in the nation—in a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).
"Throughout the budget process, we have consistently affirmed our commitment to ensuring that reductions in federal spending do not come at the expense of our most vulnerable constituents," the lawmakers' letter continues. "We write to reiterate that commitment to those we represent here in Washington."
"We support the Medicaid reforms in H.R. 1, which strengthen the program's ability to serve children, pregnant women, the elderly, and individuals with disabilities," the letter states, referring to provisions in the House version of the so-called "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" that would still slash federal Medicaid spending by billions of dollars, introduce work requirements for recipients, and impose other conditions that critics say would result in millions of vulnerable people losing their coverage in order to pay for a massive tax cut that would disproportionately benefit the wealthy and corporations.
The letter continues:
The Senate proposal also undermines the balanced approach taken to craft the Medicaid provisions in H.R. 1—particularly regarding provider taxes and state directed payments. The Senate version treats expansion and nonexpansion states unfairly, fails to preserve existing state programs, and imposes stricter limits that do not give hospitals sufficient time to adjust to new budgetary constraints or to identify alternative funding sources.
We are also concerned about rushed implementation timelines, penalties for expansion states, changes to the community engagement requirements for adults with dependents, and cuts to emergency Medicaid funding. These changes would place additional burdens on hospitals already stretched thin by legal and moral obligations to provide care.
"Protecting Medicaid is essential for the vulnerable constituents we were elected to represent," the lawmakers concluded. "Therefore, we cannot support a final bill that threatens access to coverage or jeopardizes the stability of our hospitals and providers."
Both chambers of Congress are scheduled to be on recess next week for the Independence Day holiday. Senators still have not voted on the package—and both chambers must pass identical versions of the megabill before it will reach President Donald Trump's desk.
Trump impatiently said on his Truth Social network Tuesday: "To my friends in the Senate, lock yourself in a room if you must, don't go home, and GET THE DEAL DONE THIS WEEK. Work with the House so they can pick it up, and pass it, IMMEDIATELY. NO ONE GOES ON VACATION UNTIL IT'S DONE."
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesperson Justin Chermol dismissed the 16 GOP lawmakers' letter as "performative bullshit."
"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," Chermol added.Keep ReadingShow Less
Police Assault Protesters Demanding Gaza Cease-Fire at DNC HQ
"With every passing minute that President Biden and the Democratic Party refuse to heed the calls of their voters and demand a cease-fire, more Palestinians in Gaza are being killed by Israeli airstrikes."
Nov 16, 2023
U.S. Capitol Police used pellet guns and pepper spray late Wednesday to break up an interfaith protest calling for a cease-fire in Gaza as top Democratic lawmakers gathered for a candidate event inside the headquarters of the party's national committee.
Organizers of the protest said that shortly after demonstrators locked arms and obstructed the entrance to the Democratic National Committee building, police—including some in riot gear—rushed them without warning and used "brute force" to remove activists from the area.
At least 100 demonstrators were injured during the police response, including one person who was pushed over railing onto their head, Sumaya Awad, a member of the New York City Democratic Socialists of America (NYC-DSA), told The Washington Post.
"The Democratic Party just showed exactly how it feels about its voters," Awad said in a statement. "The Israeli military just stormed a hospital in Gaza, airstrikes have killed over 4,500 children, and water is running out. Over 80% of Democratic voters are demanding a cease-fire and brought that message of peace to party leadership, who responded by unleashing an incredibly violent police attack on them."
Jewish Voice for Peace Action and IfNotNow, groups that helped organize the demonstration along with DSA, echoed that account and criticized media outlets for uncritically reporting a Capitol Police statement accusing activists of "violently protesting."
A
Semafor reporter who was at the protest refuted claims from some lawmakers—including Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman (Calif.) and Republican Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.)—that demonstrators tried to "storm" DNC headquarters.
IfNotNow said in a statement that protesters were pepper sprayed, dragged by the hair, hit with police bikes, choked, kicked, punched in the face, and tackled to the pavement.
The Capitol Police
wrote in a social media post that six officers "were treated for injuries—ranging from minor cuts to being pepper sprayed to being punched."
Just a
small fraction of Congress has called for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip even as support for a negotiated end to the bloodshed nears 70% among the U.S. public. President Joe Biden has repeatedly dismissed calls for a cease-fire, breaking with an overwhelming majority of Democratic voters and a growing number of lawmakers in his party.
Beth Miller, political director of Jewish Voice for Peace Action, said in a statement late Wednesday that "with every passing minute that President Biden and the Democratic Party refuse to heed the calls of their voters and demand a cease-fire, more Palestinians in Gaza are being killed by Israeli airstrikes and siege."
"Tonight, hundreds of peaceful anti-war activists came to the DNC to call for an end to bombs and violence in order to save Palestinian and Israeli lives. They were met with brutal assaults by the police," Miller added. "The Democrats need to decide: will they stand on the side of peace and justice, or will they continue to support war and genocide?"
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This Is What It Sounds Like When a Very Powerful Democrat Tries to Force a Progressive Out of a Primary Fight
"They squash progressive candidates," said Levi Tillemann, a Democratic candidate in Colorado, who was urged by Rep. Steny Hoyer and the DCCC to end his campaign
Apr 26, 2018
People have long known these kinds of conversations take place, but rarely is the regular voter allowed to hear exactly how it goes down.
"The issues that resonate most with voters are not the issues that the DCCC is telling candidates to focus on."
--Levi Tillemann
The Intercept on Thursday provided a brief and striking look into the Democratic Party's "strong-arm" tactics by publishing a recording of Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), the number two Democrat in the House, attempting to push progressive hopeful and Medicare for All supporter Levi Tillemann out of a Colorado congressional race for the benefit of the corporate alternative, Jason Crow.
With the help of cartoonists at The Nib, the conversation--which Tilleman secretly recorded on his phone--was turned into a dramatized video by The Intercept.
Watch:
The Democratic Party has been accused of waging an "all-out war on progressives" over the past several months as it attempts to retake Congress from the GOP in 2018, but it's not often that the behind-the-scenes dirty work that goes into the party's effort to boost corporate-friendly candidates at the expense of left-wing alternatives been revealed in intimate detail.
In an interview with The Intercept, Tillemann acknowledged that his decision to record his private conversation with Hoyer is a "breach of personal decorum," but argued that this is "much less important than the fundamental principle at stake in our democracy in 2018."
"They squash progressive candidates," Tillemann explained, referring to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Commitee (DCCC). "They destroy the diversity of ideas in their caucus. They keep ideas like Medicare for All, free community college, or impeaching Donald Trump from having a significant role in the national conversation. The issues that resonate most with voters are not the issues that the DCCC is telling candidates to focus on."
Tilleman is far from the only candidate who has faced the wrath of the DCCC for attempting to challenge Democratic Party orthodoxy and threatening the chances of establishment favorites.
As Common Dreams reported in February, the DCCC took the extraordinary step of publishing opposition research on Laura Moser, a progressive candidate challenging an establishment favorite in Texas's 7th congressional district.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), no stranger to the Democratic Party's tactic of marginalizing progressive voices, has called the DCCC's widespread campaign to undermine progressives in races nationwide "appalling."
Saikat Chakrabarti, executive director of Justice Democrats, has argued that the DCCC's attacks on progressives only make it more likely that the Democratic Party will continue to lose.
"Their attacks on Laura Moser's campaign, their internal memos directing their candidates to stand down on fighting for gun reform and Medicare for All--these are not just attacks on progressives but a completely incompetent strategy that will guarantee more losses," Chakrabarti said.
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