'Trump’s lapdog': Political scientist demolishes GOP lawmaker’s spending bill claims

In an op-ed published by the Lexington Herald-Leader on June 10, Rep. Andy Barr (R-Kentucky) passionately defended President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill" — which he voted for — and urged the U.S. Senate to pass it as soon as possible. The GOP congressman claimed that the bill will be great for Kentucky residents if it passes in the Senate.

But Peter Lynch, known for teaching political science at the University of Kentucky, expresses a very different view of the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 in a scathing Herald-Leader op-ed published on June 20.

Lynch warns that in a variety of respects, the bill will be harmful to Kentucky residents if it passes in the Senate and goes to Trump's White House desk for signature.

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"The key things that people in Kentucky need to know about Trump's 'big, beautiful Bill are: It would increase the national debt by about $2.4 trillion," Lynch explains. "It would give up free money that Kentucky receives from the federal government, since for every $1.00 we send to Washington, we get back roughly $1.50 in return. Much of this funding goes to things like food stamps and Medicaid."

Lynch continues, "By turning away free federal funding for food stamps, it would also put the 575,000 Kentuckians who receive food stamps in the crosshairs by forcing the state to choose between: (1) raising state taxes to make up for the loss in federal funding or (2) taking food stamps away from some of our most vulnerable neighbors. By turning away federal funding for Medicaid, it would also kick at least 200,000 Kentuckians off of Medicaid."

Barr, according to Lynch, is glossing over the number of Kentucky residents who rely on Medicaid for access to health care.

"If you read Rep. Andy Barr’s June 10 op-ed," Lynch argues, "you'd never guess this bill would be harmful to Kentucky at all. Given that we live in a state where about 28 percent of citizens receive Medicaid and the bill calls for substantial cuts to Medicaid, you'd think these changes would be a bigger issue to him than, say, the attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, trans surgeries, or the border with Mexico. We have to drive through three states, including Texas, to get there."

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Lynch continues, "But apparently, Barr cares more about the fewer than 4000 trans surgeries funded by Medicaid each year in the entire country than he does about the hundreds of thousands of Kentuckians he's voted to kick off of Medicaid."

Barr, Lynch laments, has become "one of President Trump's most loyal lapdogs" at the expense of Kentucky residents.

"Of course the 'big, beautiful bill' was an easy vote for him," Lynch says of Barr. "While it would harm hundreds of thousands of people in Kentucky and increase the debt by trillions, it would help make the rich people who fund his campaigns even richer. That's what really matters to Andy Barr."

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Peter Lynch's full op-ed for the Lexington Herald-Leader is available at this link (subscription required).