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One of the most spectacular feats Republicans in Congress have managed to achieve is coming up with a spending bill with the potential to grow the deficit<\/a> and starve children. Speaker Mike Johnson<\/strong> was triumphant last week after the House narrowly passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act by a vote of 215-214, sending the legislation to the Senate\u2014and then, he surely hopes, to the desk of Donald Trump,<\/strong> who is itching to sign it<\/a>.<\/p>\n Just as he did with March\u2019s continuing resolution (and averted government shutdown), Trump showed<\/a> he has control over his caucus, even as his average approval rating<\/a> has dropped from 52% to 45%, with recent polls showing Americans rejecting<\/a> his policies. Just two Republicans voted \u201cnay,\u201d while another voted \u201cpresent,\u201d and a couple missed the vote altogether (apparently because they slept<\/a> through it<\/a>.) But that means 215 Republicans voted for this monster bill, including some who are expected to face<\/a> tough reelection campaigns, like Nebraska\u2019s Don Bacon<\/strong> and Pennsylvania\u2019s Ryan Mackenzie.<\/strong><\/p>\n Republicans in toss-up districts and swing states are going to have to answer for signing on to a bill that cuts deeply<\/a> into Medicaid and tightens eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), more commonly known as food stamps.<\/p>\n \u201cBy voting for the One Big Ugly Bill, which would enact the largest cut to Medicaid and food assistance in American history to fund tax breaks for their billionaire donors, the so-called moderate Republicans sealed their political fate,\u201d Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries<\/strong> told me in an email. \u201cThese MAGA extremists spent months falsely promising their constituents they would protect their health care. Republicans lied\u2014and they will be held accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n While Trump continues to defy political gravity, such immunity doesn\u2019t necessarily apply to other Republicans; in fact, there\u2019s lots of evidence to support the supposition that Trumpism doesn\u2019t scale\u2014just ask Blake Masters<\/strong> or Kari Lake,<\/strong> Doug Mastriano<\/strong> or Herschel Walker.<\/strong> While Trump claims<\/a> that \u201cthe only thing we\u2019re cutting is waste, fraud, and abuse,\u201d Leighton Ku,<\/strong> director of George Washington University\u2019s Center for Health Policy Research, told Al Jazeera that \u201cthe major provisions are not fraud, waste, or error by any means\u201d; rather, they are \u201cthings that reflect policy preferences of the Republican architects.\u201d<\/p>\n Republicans across the country will have to respond to voters who, across party lines, oppose<\/a> cutting Medicaid funding. According to KFF<\/a>, 65% of Americans have some connection to Medicaid, including more than half \u201cwho say either they themselves or a member of their family has been covered by the program.\u201d Plenty of Medicaid recipients live in Trump counties<\/a>.<\/p>\n The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projects<\/a> the bill will grow the deficit by about $3.8 trillion while targeting health care and food assistance. The<\/em> New York Times<\/em> reports<\/a> that,\u00a0 according to CBO analysis, new work requirements \u201ccould result in about 3 million SNAP recipients losing benefits.\u201d According to the Century Foundation, more than 25% of children<\/a> in New Mexico, Louisiana, and West Virginia could be affected by these cuts. Such policies are not only morally reprehensible, but also politically indefensible. As Representative Brendan Boyle,<\/strong> the ranking member of the House Budget Committee, texted me: \u201cThis bill will cause the biggest loss of health care in American history\u2014all to fund tax cuts for billionaires.\u201d<\/p>\n Another striking thing about the bill is that it heavily punishes the people who put Trump in office. KFF Health News zeroed in on<\/a> Gila County, Arizona, which went nearly 70% for Trump in November. \u201cThe number of Gila County residents on Medicaid and the related Children\u2019s Health Insurance Program has nearly doubled over the past 15 years, according to data from the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. Today, almost 4 in 10 residents are on one of the health insurance plans for low- and moderate-income people or those with disabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n While Republicans made inroads with Black and Latino voters in 2024, they could also surrender such gains. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy<\/a>, in extending and expanding upon Trump\u2019s 2017 tax cuts, rate and bracket changes would \u201ccreate more racial inequality in our tax system by disproportionately favoring white taxpayers at the expense of others.\u201d<\/p>\n Democrats have an opportunity to seize on this \u201cbig, beautiful bill\u201d as the political gift that it is and make clear to voters\u2014including Trump\u2019s own\u2014how this hurts the working class.<\/p>\n But let\u2019s not ignore provisions like the one which \u201cwould limit the power of federal judges to hold people in contempt, potentially shielding President Trump and members of his administration from the consequences of violating court orders,\u201d as the Times<\/em> notes<\/a>. That\u2019s a pretty crazy thing to stick into a tax and spending bill, only adding to how the GOP-led Congress has ceded authority<\/a> to Trump. Meanwhile, the bill would also roll back<\/a> Biden-era advancements in clean energy by gutting tax credits granted under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.<\/p>\n The Senate will surely make changes to the bill, as even some Republicans<\/a> appear intent on doing so. Nevertheless, we now have swing state Republicans in the House on record voting for changes in eligibility rules that\u2019ll potentially leave millions without health care and food assistance, with the bill also giving Trump even more unchecked power. If Democrats have their shit together, they will not let voters forget it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n