Since President Trump took office just under a month ago, Elon Musk and his team of privateers have rampaged through government, demolishing agencies, rifling through private data, firing thousands of career federal employees and even changing signage on federal buildings and historic sites.
The White House has justified Musk’s authority under the label “special government employee.” The media has taken the bait to an alarming degree, covering Musk and his Department ...
Trump administration slashes funding for ObamaCare outreach program
The Trump administration slashed funding for Affordable Care Act navigators, which help people sign up for ObamaCare coverage on the law’s exchanges, by 90 percent.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on Friday announced health insurance navigators will receive just $10 million per year over the next four years. Navigators received $98 million in 2024.
CMS said the cut will allow the exchanges to focus on more effective strategie...
Republicans put health care cuts front and center to advance agenda
House Republicans are putting cuts to Medicaid at the top of their list of budget cuts to help pay for their wide-ranging agenda that spans tax cuts, energy production and border security.
Republicans are eyeing changes to how much the federal government, as opposed to states, will contribute to Medicaid expenditures, an amount called the federal medical assistance percentage, or FMAP.
Republicans see Medicaid as a program rife with fraud and abuse and have...
Democrats needle GOP budget plan in hours-long hearing
House Democrats sought to dial up the heat on Republicans on Thursday, as lawmakers considered a budget blueprint that could be key to enacting President Trump’s agenda, despite internal GOP rifts over spending and taxes that threaten to impede those efforts.
Democrats raised the alarm throughout the hearing over potential cuts to programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) while criticizing Republicans on tax proposals they argued would dispr...
GOP leaders downplay Medicaid cuts as they seek $2T in savings
House Republican leaders on Tuesday downplayed the possibility of cuts to Medicaid benefits as they seek a reconciliation bill with up to $2 trillion in savings.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) sought to reassure the public — and potential jittery members of their own caucus — that the Medicaid changes under discussion include work requirements and fraud reduction, not drastic cuts like lowering the federal match for Medic...
Progressive group sounds alarm on Medicaid cuts
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Booker outlines multipart plan to push back on Trump, Musk
Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) on Sunday outlined Democrats’ strategy to push back on President Trump’s and tech billionaire Elon Musk’s efforts to reshape much of the federal government through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and other means of executive authority.
In an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Booker said Democrats are fighting back through the courts, in Congress and through public and media engagement with constituents.
"I think the pla...
Democrats fighting Trump’s government reforms are waging a losing battle
Democrats have gone to the mattress against Donald Trump. Not to protest his immigration crackdown, his intention to shut down the Department of Education, his tariffs or any of the other controversial policies the new president has proposed in the past two weeks. No, Democrats are fighting tooth and nail to protect the federal bureaucracy.
Just recently, Senate Democrats took the extreme measure of filibustering through the night to decry the nomination of Russell...
Trump Medicaid pledge could complicate GOP cuts
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DOGE officials home in on Medicare, Medicaid offices
Representatives of billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have turned their focus to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency confirmed Wednesday.
It was unclear which systems DOGE had access to and whether any sensitive medical information was part of the efforts.
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier Wednesday that DOGE aides had been granted access to key payment and contract systems.
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