Senate Republicans were dealt a significant blow Thursday when Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough advised that major pieces of the GOP megabill’s Medicaid policy can’t pass with a simple majority.
Much of the savings in the bill come from Medicaid cuts, and the ruling impacts several of the largest and most controversial ones, including a plan to slash states’ use of health care provider taxes as well as several measures related to health care for immigrants....
Senate
Trump bill hits Senate buzzsaw
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Senate referee rejects key Medicaid cuts in Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’
Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough has rejected key Medicaid provisions in the Senate GOP megabill, a ruling that appears to strike a major blow to Republicans' strategy for cutting federal spending.
The Senate's referee rejected a plan to cap states’ use of health care provider taxes to collect more federal Medicaid funding, a proposal that would have generated hundreds of billions of dollars in savings to offset the cost of making President Trump’s corporate tax ...
Parliamentarian rejects GOP attempt to prohibit federal subsidies for health plans that cover abortion services
The Senate parliamentarian ruled on Wednesday to reject Republican language in the Senate megabill that would prohibit federal subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) from going to qualified health plans that cover abortion services.
The Republican language in the bill would restrict the ACA’s cost-sharing subsidies from lowering the costs of plans that cover abortion services in about a dozen states, according to the Commonwealth Fund, an independent health research ...
More than 30 celebrities come out against SNAP, Medicaid cuts in GOP megabill
More than two dozen members of the entertainment industry issued an open letter to members of Congress on Wednesday urging them to reject sweeping cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid in the GOP's "big, beautiful" spending bill.
The open letter, released by Feeding America, was signed by 31 people, including high-profile Hollywood stars like Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson, Michelle Williams, Alan Cumming, Kristin Chenoweth, Sheryl Crow, ...
Key GOP senator warns Medicaid cuts could spell political disaster for Republicans
Sen. Thom Tillis (N.C.), one of the most vulnerable Senate Republican incumbents facing re-election in 2026, warned Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) bluntly in a private meeting Tuesday that deep cuts to Medicaid could cost Republicans control of the House and Senate, according to a person familiar with the conversation.
Tillis, who has kept relatively quiet about the hundreds of billions of dollars in Medicaid cuts proposed by the Senate Finance Committee, blaste...
House GOP moderates tell leadership they won’t back Senate tax bill over Medicaid cuts
More than a dozen House Republicans warned they won’t support the Senate’s version of the tax and spending bill because the proposed Medicaid cuts are too steep.
Led by Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.), 15 other vulnerable Republicans sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) saying they support the Medicaid reforms in the House version of the legislation, but the Senate Finance Committee proposal went too far.&nbs...
GOP leaders face internal pushback, doubts on ‘big beautiful bill’ vote
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) is moving full speed ahead toward a planned vote this week on his chamber’s version of President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” despite pushback from GOP colleagues and serious doubts about his prospects.
Republicans say Thune and other Senate GOP leaders have told them the bill is on track for a vote before the July 4 recess in the face of misgivings from colleagues about the impact on Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistan...
Trump’s megabill hits more trouble as Senate conservatives demand changes
The Senate version of legislation to enact President Trump’s agenda is hitting new turbulence as conservatives led by Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) are demanding deeper spending cuts to address the nation’s $2.2 trillion annual deficit.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has focused this week on addressing the concerns of Senate GOP colleagues such as Sens. Josh Hawley (Mo.) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), who raised alarms about...
Senate bill’s Medicaid cuts draw some GOP angst
The Senate’s deep cuts to Medicaid in the tax and spending megabill are setting off alarm bells among some Republicans, complicating leadership's effort to get the legislation passed by July 4.
It seeks to clamp down on two tactics states use to boost Medicaid funding to hospitals: state-directed payments and Medicaid provider taxes. The restrictions are a major concern for rural hospitals, a key constituency for senators.
Republicans have set an ambi...