'Mistake': Some Republicans worry key proposal could cost them the midterms

27 February

House Speaker Mike Johnson. Image via Gage Skidmore/Flickr.

Some GOP members are concerned that if the “big, beautiful bill” implementing President Donald Trump’s tax cuts ends up cutting Medicaid, they might suffer in the next elections, the Washington Post reported Thursday. The legislation could cost House Republicans in swing states representing lower-income communities their seats.

“The possibility of Medicaid cuts has become a headache for the most vulnerable Republicans in Congress — some of whom are vowing to reject any final bill that slashes it — and has handed Democrats a potent issue ahead of the 2026 midterms. Republicans are struggling to pay for Trump’s legislative agenda without cutting into programs their voters rely on, especially as they seek to position themselves as the party of the working class,” write Hannah Knowles and Marianna Sotomayor.

Earlier this week, Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew (N.J.) called Trump warning him that gutting Medicaid would have major consequences.

“They’re going to go after you for this,” he said he told Trump. “You know, we could very easily lose the majority for it. I think it’s a mistake.”

That didn’t stop Van Drew from voting for the bill, though. Trump and other Republicans have sworn that they won’t cut Medicaid, but experts and low-income Americans who are beneficiaries of the program worry that there is no other way to implement the legislation. Van Drew said he voted because Trump seems “100 percent committed to keeping Medicaid other than waste, fraud and abuse.” He added that he expects the legislation to change when the Senate steps in.

Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) has warned House Speaker Mike Johnson that Medicaid cuts would have “serious consequences.”

“Last night’s vote was important, but that was just the beginning,” he told the Post. “And myself, other members of the Congressional Hispanic Conference, [are] going to be very involved in the sausage-making process to ensure that some of these … proposals that I think are detrimental to hardworking Americans don’t become reality.”

“Millions of Americans depend on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and I will have no part in cutting these programs for the folks that are legally entitled to them,” Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.), said in a statement. He represents a battleground district.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) has said he doesn’t like the idea of Medicaid cuts, but he likes the idea of requiring recipients to work. This could put 36 million people at risk of losing Medicaid, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. This figure includes disabled people, people who have been laid off, and people who have trouble navigating the process. “Work requirements, I think, is something that we can get every Republican to agree on,” Hawley said.

Other Republicans are waiting to see what will happen. “Medicaid is monstrously important in West Virginia, that’s for sure,” said Sen. Jim Justice (R-W. Va.). “[But] I think it’s premature for us to run through the village with our hair on fire.”

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.), who has spoken out against the cuts, said leadership is “focusing on the Medicaid fraudster.” But if the legislation does cut Medicaid in the end, “then maybe I’m not going to vote for the final budget,” she said.

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