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Axios
29-05-2025
- Health
- Axios
House passes reconciliation bill with sweeping Medicaid changes
The House passed the reconciliation bill in a 215-214 vote early Thursday morning that includes the first set of federal work requirements. Why it matters: The reconciliation bill includes the biggest Medicaid rewrite in the history of the safety-net program, which will likely result in millions of Americans losing their health insurance coverage. The big picture: The package represents an uneasy compromise between conservative Republicans' demands and the concerns of GOP moderates. Moderates had pushed back against more sweeping Medicaid policy changes, like altering the federal share of costs for states (FMAP) or implementing per capita caps, though they were on board for work requirements. Hardline conservatives then staged their own rebellion this week, demanding deeper cuts to Medicaid to help pay for state and local tax deductions — but then caved after GOP leadership and the White House agreed to some limited changes. House Freedom Caucus members had continued up unto Wednesday to try to push for deeper cuts for FMAP, but were unsuccessful. What's inside: The manager's amendment filed on Wednesday had a few updates to the health provisions — most notably by moving up the start of work requirements to the end of 2026, from 2029, which was a Freedom Caucus demand. It also would fund cost-sharing reduction payment to insurers and allow state-directed payments to be higher in states that have not expanded Medicaid than in expansion states. The original bill also would cut the FMAP for states that cover undocumented immigrants with state funds, impose cost-sharing on enrollees for medical services and increase Medicaid eligibility checks to every six months. And it includes several other GOP health care priorities on PBMs, the Medicare physician payment cut and delaying the nursing home staffing measure. In one more last-minute change, the amended bill would now ban Medicaid funding for gender-affirming care for all individuals, not just minors as the original bill would have done. By the numbers: The Congressional Budget Office estimated that around 10 million individuals will lose health insurance coverage due to the policy changes.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How Mike Johnson doused a GOP dumpster fire
Speaker Mike Johnson bet it all on 'one big, beautiful bill.' With a heavy assist from President Donald Trump in the final hours, he delivered. The bill's House passage early Thursday morning was at least temporary vindication for a series of strategic decisions championed by the Louisiana Republican — chiefly, that packaging a massive suite of tax cuts together with other sundry GOP priorities would make it easier to move ambitious legislation with his tiny governing majority. Johnson had to battle for months with factions of his own conference, and with the Senate, at multiple key junctures. But he plowed through and moved a host of Trump's campaign promises closer to the president's desk after a final flurry of negotiations and a rare, overnight session on the House floor. 'There was a few moments over the last week when it looked like the thing might fall apart,' Johnson told reporters shortly after the vote, adding he visited the House chapel to pray on it. In essence, Johnson spent months fighting fires. His job, in conjunction with other GOP leaders, was to manage flare-up after flare-up as various groups inside the House ranks battled over trillions in tax cuts and politically explosive reductions to social safety-net spending. Johnson might not have succeeded in putting out every blaze, but he kept them from growing into a conflagration that even Trump couldn't extinguish. He'll probably have to do it again later this year after the Senate sends back revisions to the megabill. The outlook for the legislation looked bleak throughout the past week, as various bands of holdouts resisted coming aboard. On Wednesday night, for instance, Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) — a conservative hard-liner — suggested the bill would potentially 'have to fail' on the floor for leaders to realize it should be reworked. Moderate Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) said he was 'not happy' with changes the conservatives had secured to more quickly eliminate clean-energy tax credits he'd been working to defend. Neither ended up voting for the bill. Davidson was one of two House Republicans who voted 'no' Thursday, and Garbarino missed the vote. But Johnson had spent the week peeling off almost every other member — moving methodically between holdout groups, patiently working through a seemingly endless litany of issues. On Monday night, after tentatively approving some key demands from fiscal hawks who had delayed a key Budget Committee vote, Johnson faced ire from the other side of the conference in a closed-door meeting. Several Republicans in the Main Street Caucus told Johnson they were frustrated that he was once again appearing to entertain politically explosive cuts to Medicaid — cutting the federal share of funding to states, known as FMAP — after the speaker had seemed to rule them out. Some of the centrist-leaning Republicans in the room pressed the speaker to publicly take the proposal off the table for good this time — and send a message to the hard right not to push further. Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio), a former Trump aide, spoke up to air his own irritation with how Johnson had managed the whole megabill process. Indeed, the speaker and his team's tactics had grated on many GOP members. They believed he had unwisely delayed settling the biggest battles until the final hours and had given disingenuous assurances to some at-risk Republicans that the Senate would intervene and block some of the bill's most unpalatable provisions. Johnson jotted down notes as members spoke. A few minutes later, as he walked back to his office, he told reporters, 'FMAP has not been on the table — it's been off the table for quite some time.' He had extinguished another fire. But it was time for Johnson to call in backup. The next morning, Trump made a rare journey to the drab, poorly-lit Capitol basement to make his wishes clear. It was uncertain if he'd stanch the disputes or toss more fuel onto them. The visit came just a few days after the hard-liner rebellion had blocked the bill in the Budget Committee vote over concerns that the megabill would add trillions of dollars to the national debt. Before he even walked into the meeting, Trump appeared to be looking to stoke conflict — dismissing the hard-liners' deeply held beliefs. 'I'm a bigger fiscal hawk — there's nobody like me,' he told reporters alongside Johnson, in response to a question about some of the hard-right concerns. Inside the meeting, the president took on a kind of Rodney Dangerfield persona, House Republicans said — telling barbed jokes at lawmakers' expense. He laced into the fiscal hawks and 'SALT Republicans' pushing for the expansion of a key tax break — calling out 'grandstanders' by name who sought to stand in the way of his 'one big, beautiful bill.' 'He insulted several people with a great intensity,' said one bewildered House Republican, who like others was granted anonymity to speak candidly about private meetings and conversations. Trump's tongue lashings and Johnson's hardball approach to muscling the bill through this week rattled some even long-time GOP lawmakers. It was clear there was no room for dissent. 'I could never have imagined when I started in politics that we would have this kind of a scenario,' one House Republican said of the our-way-or-the-highway approach. 'But who else do we turn to, besides Johnson?' Near the end, the speaker needed to douse one last blaze: The hard-line House Freedom Caucus was balking and pushing for concessions on Medicaid that other Republicans simply would not accept. A White House meeting was arranged with the holdouts, and Johnson sat in with top lieutenants as Trump unleashed the fire hose — pressing Reps. Chip Roy of Texas, Andy Harris of Maryland and other hard-liners to vote for the bill. 'It was tough. There was no back and forth,' said one Republican briefed on the meeting. 'He let them have it.' Johnson returned to the Capitol triumphant. 'The plan is to move forward as we expected,' he told reporters. Roy and Harris then huddled through the night with White House officials including Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair and Legislative Affairs Director James Braid. The hard-liners pushed for, and said they secured, promises for executive orders to address Medicaid and other items on their wish list. Meanwhile, as night turned to morning over the course of a nine-hour vote series, Johnson huddled one-on-one with several previously balking members on the floor. Rep. Michael Cloud of Texas, a fiscal hawk who a few days earlier had said the bill 'fell short,' spoke to Johnson around 3 a.m. Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia, who won a key concession ending the taxation of gun silencers, sat with the speaker later in the morning. And just before Republicans passed the massive bill a little before 7 a.m., the speaker and Miller spoke for several minutes, ending their conversation with a handshake. Unlike several prior high-stakes votes during Johnson's speakership and predecessor Kevin McCarthy's, there were no dramatic scenes wrangling last-minute votes from the assembled hard-liners. His team was confident the tough tactics had worked. 'They always fold,' one senior GOP aide said.
Politico
23-05-2025
- Business
- Politico
How Mike Johnson doused a GOP dumpster fire
Speaker Mike Johnson bet it all on 'one big, beautiful bill.' With a heavy assist from President Donald Trump in the final hours, he delivered. The bill's House passage early Thursday morning was at least temporary vindication for a series of strategic decisions championed by the Louisiana Republican — chiefly, that packaging a massive suite of tax cuts together with other sundry GOP priorities would make it easier to move ambitious legislation with his tiny governing majority. Johnson had to battle for months with factions of his own conference, and with the Senate, at multiple key junctures. But he plowed through and moved a host of Trump's campaign promises closer to the president's desk after a final flurry of negotiations and a rare, overnight session on the House floor. 'There was a few moments over the last week when it looked like the thing might fall apart,' Johnson told reporters shortly after the vote, adding he visited the House chapel to pray on it. In essence, Johnson spent months fighting fires. His job, in conjunction with other GOP leaders, was to manage flare-up after flare-up as various groups inside the House ranks battled over trillions in tax cuts and politically explosive reductions to social safety-net spending. Johnson might not have succeeded in putting out every blaze, but he kept them from growing into a conflagration that even Trump couldn't extinguish. He'll probably have to do it again later this year after the Senate sends back revisions to the megabill. The outlook for the legislation looked bleak throughout the past week, as various bands of holdouts resisted coming aboard. On Wednesday night, for instance, Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) — a conservative hard-liner — suggested the bill would potentially 'have to fail' on the floor for leaders to realize it should be reworked. Moderate Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) said he was 'not happy' with changes the conservatives had secured to more quickly eliminate clean-energy tax credits he'd been working to defend. Neither ended up voting for the bill. Davidson was one of two House Republicans who voted 'no' Thursday, and Garbarino missed the vote. But Johnson had spent the week peeling off almost every other member — moving methodically between holdout groups, patiently working through a seemingly endless litany of issues. On Monday night, after tentatively approving some key demands from fiscal hawks who had delayed a key Budget Committee vote, Johnson faced ire from the other side of the conference in a closed-door meeting. Several Republicans in the Main Street Caucus told Johnson they were frustrated that he was once again appearing to entertain politically explosive cuts to Medicaid — cutting the federal share of funding to states, known as FMAP — after the speaker had seemed to rule them out. Some of the centrist-leaning Republicans in the room pressed the speaker to publicly take the proposal off the table for good this time — and send a message to the hard right not to push further. Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio), a former Trump aide, spoke up to air his own irritation with how Johnson had managed the whole megabill process. Indeed, the speaker and his team's tactics had grated on many GOP members. They believed he had unwisely delayed settling the biggest battles until the final hours and had given disingenuous assurances to some at-risk Republicans that the Senate would intervene and block some of the bill's most unpalatable provisions. Johnson jotted down notes as members spoke. A few minutes later, as he walked back to his office, he told reporters, 'FMAP has not been on the table — it's been off the table for quite some time.' He had extinguished another fire. But it was time for Johnson to call in backup. The next morning, Trump made a rare journey to the drab, poorly-lit Capitol basement to make his wishes clear. It was uncertain if he'd stanch the disputes or toss more fuel onto them. The visit came just a few days after the hard-liner rebellion had blocked the bill in the Budget Committee vote over concerns that the megabill would add trillions of dollars to the national debt. Before he even walked into the meeting, Trump appeared to be looking to stoke conflict — dismissing the hard-liners' deeply held beliefs. 'I'm a bigger fiscal hawk — there's nobody like me,' he told reporters alongside Johnson, in response to a question about some of the hard-right concerns. Inside the meeting, the president took on a kind of Rodney Dangerfield persona, House Republicans said — telling barbed jokes at lawmakers' expense. He laced into the fiscal hawks and 'SALT Republicans' pushing for the expansion of a key tax break — calling out 'grandstanders' by name who sought to stand in the way of his 'one big, beautiful bill.' 'He insulted several people with a great intensity,' said one bewildered House Republican, who like others was granted anonymity to speak candidly about private meetings and conversations. Trump's tongue lashings and Johnson's hardball approach to muscling the bill through this week rattled some even long-time GOP lawmakers. It was clear there was no room for dissent. 'I could never have imagined when I started in politics that we would have this kind of a scenario,' one House Republican said of the our-way-or-the-highway approach. 'But who else do we turn to, besides Johnson?' Near the end, the speaker needed to douse one last blaze: The hard-line House Freedom Caucus was balking and pushing for concessions on Medicaid that other Republicans simply would not accept. A White House meeting was arranged with the holdouts, and Johnson sat in with top lieutenants as Trump unleashed the fire hose — pressing Reps. Chip Roy of Texas, Andy Harris of Maryland and other hard-liners to vote for the bill. 'It was tough. There was no back and forth,' said one Republican briefed on the meeting. 'He let them have it.' Johnson returned to the Capitol triumphant. 'The plan is to move forward as we expected,' he told reporters. Roy and Harris then huddled through the night with White House officials including Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair and Legislative Affairs Director James Braid. The hard-liners pushed for, and said they secured, promises for executive orders to address Medicaid and other items on their wish list. Meanwhile, as night turned to morning over the course of a nine-hour vote series, Johnson huddled one-on-one with several previously balking members on the floor. Rep. Michael Cloud of Texas, a fiscal hawk who a few days earlier had said the bill 'fell short,' spoke to Johnson around 3 a.m. Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia, who won a key concession ending the taxation of gun silencers, sat with the speaker later in the morning. And just before Republicans passed the massive bill a little before 7 a.m., the speaker and Miller spoke for several minutes, ending their conversation with a handshake. Unlike several prior high-stakes votes during Johnson's speakership and predecessor Kevin McCarthy's, there were no dramatic scenes wrangling last-minute votes from the assembled hard-liners. His team was confident the tough tactics had worked. 'They always fold,' one senior GOP aide said.
Politico
20-05-2025
- Business
- Politico
Trump's turn
Presented by IN TODAY'S EDITION:— Trump jumps into the megabill fight— House Judiciary presses for ICE answers— Thune's CRA moment of truth House Republican leaders are bringing in their biggest gun today as they race to pacify critics and pass their 'big, beautiful bill' in the coming days. Where things stand: Blue-state Republicans emerged from a late Monday meeting with Speaker Mike Johnson without a deal on a state-and-local-tax deduction, feeling uncertain if they could clinch a final agreement. It's one of many hangups GOP leaders have to resolve before Rules meets on the bill at 1 a.m. Wednesday, with a House floor vote to eventually follow. Now Johnson's finally playing the Trump card. The president is expected to speak to members during today's 8:30 a.m. conference meeting. 'I think you're going to see the squeeze come,' Rep. Andy Ogles predicted in an interview with former Rep. Matt Gaetz Monday night. GOP leaders hope Trump can dissuade some hard-liners from putting up a bigger fight over requests like deeper Medicaid cuts and a complete repeal of IRA clean-energy tax credits, while convincing the SALT crew to finally take a deal. Johnson said Monday night he expects 'lots of encouragement to get this thing done' from the president today. Asked if he wants Trump to give direction on Medicaid, Johnson said, 'I think he already has.' They might need some more clarification. After a meeting with moderates, Johnson said so-called FMAP changes affecting state reimbursement rates aren't on the table — and haven't been for some time. But Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris said he thinks FMAP is 'the simplest way' to meet hard-liners' Medicaid demands and suggested they're ready to hold out longer to get what they want. Some good news for Johnson: The early-morning Rules meeting might not be a roadblock, after all. Republicans can lose two votes on the committee, and Rep. Ralph Norman, one of four Republicans whose initial opposition to the megabill delayed a Budget Committee vote, said Monday he would advance it in Rules. (Rep. Chip Roy, another hard-liner on the committee, told Mia he still has 'major issues.') But the speaker still faces tough math on the floor — and tough dynamics as he tries to close a deal. Giving one faction what they want on SALT and Medicaid could drive another faction away from an agreement. 'The more SALT that they want, the more my appetite for finding savings in other places [grows],' Freedom Caucus Rep. Eric Burlison said on Monday. GOOD TUESDAY MORNING. Follow our live coverage at the Inside Congress blog at and email your Inside Congress scribes at mmccarthy@ lkashinsky@ and bleonard@ THE SKED The House is in session and will take procedural votes on legislation to overturn two Biden-era rules related to the EPA and bank mergers at 1:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. — Republicans will have their weekly conference meeting, with Trump visiting, at 8:30 a.m. — Democrats will have their weekly conference meeting at 9 a.m. — GOP leaders will hold their post-meeting news conference at 10 a.m. — Appropriations will have hearings on the Interior Department (with Secretary Doug Burgum), the National Guard and Reserve Forces and the SEC at 10 a.m. The panel will also hold a hearing on TSA at 1 p.m. — Energy and Commerce will have a hearing on the EPA's fiscal 2026 budget request with testimony from Administrator Lee Zeldin at 10 a.m. — Oversight will have a hearing on impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act on energy and medicine at 10 a.m. and a hearing on the JFK assassination at 2 p.m. — Science, Space and Technology will have a hearing on agrichemicals at 10:10 a.m. — Natural Resources will discuss a draft of the FORESTS Act at 10:15 a.m. — Judiciary will have a hearing on ICE operations at 2 p.m. The Senate is in session, debating cryptocurrency legislation. There are currently no votes scheduled. — Armed Services will have a hearing on the Air Force's posture in review of the fiscal 2026 defense authorization request at 9:30 a.m. and the Energy Department's atomic energy defense activities and DOD's nuclear weapons program at 4:45 p.m. — Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs will have a hearing on the president's fiscal 2026 budget request for DHS with testimony from Secretary Kristi Noem at 9:30 a.m. — Finance will consider former Rep. Billy Long's nomination to be IRS commissioner at 10 a.m. — Foreign Relations will have a hearing on the president's fiscal 2026 budget request for the State Department with testimony from Secretary Marco Rubio at 10 a.m. — Appropriations will have a hearing on the president's fiscal 2026 budget request for HHS with testimony from Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at 10 a.m. and for the State Department with testimony from Rubio at 2 p.m. — Judiciary will have a hearing on defending against unmanned aircraft systems at 10:15 a.m. — Republican and Democratic senators will have separate weekly conference lunches at 12:45 p.m. — Intel will have a closed door briefing at 2:30 p.m. The rest of the week: The House will continue working through the GOP megabill, with a Rules Committee hearing scheduled for 1 a.m. on Wednesday. The Senate will continue considering its cryptocurrency bill. THE LEADERSHIP SUITE Trump admin crosses Jeffries' 'red line' House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and his leadership team are slamming the DOJ for charging Rep. LaMonica McIver with assault Monday in connection with a chaotic confrontation outside an ICE detention facility in New Jersey earlier this month. Top Democrats decried the charge as 'extreme' and lacking 'any basis in law or fact.' They vowed in their statement to 'respond vigorously in the days to come at a time, place and manner of our choosing.' Jeffries previously warned that arresting any lawmakers in connection with the incident was a 'red line.' As for McIver, she slammed the charge as 'purely political' and accused DOJ in a statement of trying to 'mischaracterize and distort my actions … to criminalize and deter legislative oversight.' That's setting up a contentious House Judiciary hearing today examining ICE operations, our Hailey Fuchs reports this morning. The chair of the subcommittee holding the hearing, Rep. Jeff Van Drew, said he'll press for answers on what exactly happened in the scuffle: 'What was the behavior of the individuals who were involved? Was it appropriate or not?' he told Hailey. The assault charge marks a major escalation in interparty tensions and a significant stress test of separation of powers. The other two lawmakers involved in the incident, Reps. Rob Menendez and Bonnie Watson Coleman, have not been charged, though Johnson said last week they could face punishment by the House. GOP leaders advance key crypto regs Landmark cryptocurrency legislation cleared a key Senate hurdle late Monday, after 16 Democrats sided with most Republicans to advance what could become the first-ever U.S. regulatory framework for stablecoins, our Jasper Goodman reports. The bipartisan support comes less than two weeks after Democrats tanked GOP leaders' first attempt to move the bill through a procedural vote. Republicans have since agreed to an array of changes to win over enough Democrats to clear the 60-vote threshold to advance the measure. Talks are ongoing; Sen. Cynthia Lummis, one of the GOP negotiators, predicted a 'robust' amendment process that would 'involve some minor tweaks.' Sen. Andy Kim, one of the Democratic 'no' votes, told Lisa and other reporters that he discussed a provision on illicit financing with the bill's leader, GOP Sen. Bill Hagerty, on the floor Monday night. It might be a while before the crypto industry can take its victory lap. While Hagerty told reporters 'there's no reason why' senators couldn't wrap the bill this week, Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters Monday that's 'unlikely' to happen. Thune's CRA moment of truth Senate Republicans will announce as soon as Tuesday whether to bring up a Congressional Review Act disapproval resolution that nixes California's emissions standards waiver. Thune and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, the GOP sponsor of the Senate's resolution, met Monday night with four Republicans viewed as potential swing votes: Sens. Bill Cassidy, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and John Curtis, our Jordain Carney scooped. The four Republicans are viewed as supporting the 'intent' of rolling back the EPA decision that effectively lets California set its own air-quality standards. The sticking point is that the Government Accountability Office found that the waiver doesn't qualify as a rule under the CRA, and the Senate parliamentarian backed that finding. A potential positive sign for leadership: Murkowski, while not saying how she would vote after the meeting, said that she doesn't like the California rules and is working to make sure they don't adversely impact Alaskans. Collins, meanwhile, said while the procedural mechanics are still being discussed, 'I definitely want to see the rule overturned.' Senate Republicans are expected to discuss the issue during a closed-door lunch Tuesday. Thune said Monday night that Republicans have 'options' for how to bring the resolution to the floor; Democrats have warned that would be akin to deploying the 'nuclear option.' House Dems fill a vacancy Rep. Yassamin Ansari is set to join Education and Workforce to fill the spot left open by the death of Rep. Raul Grijalva. The caucus' Steering and Policy Committee approved the move last night, and the full Democratic Caucus is set to vote on it later this morning, our Nicholas Wu writes in. 'I'm not afraid of hard work, and I've been hitting the ground running for my constituents from Day One — this is just the next step,' Ansari said in a statement. POLICY RUNDOWN ABOUT THAT QATARI PLANE — Trump's desire to accept a luxury jet from Qatar has hit political turbulence, scrambling the usual battle lines on Capitol Hill as lawmakers weigh everything from sticking amendments in defense legislation to holding up nominees. Our Joe Gould and Connor O'Brien outline this morning six ways Congress could block the jet deal. CRACKING DOWN ON DEEPFAKE PORN— Trump signed the TAKE IT DOWN Act into law on Monday amid overwhelming bipartisan support. The legislation, led by Sens. Ted Cruz and Amy Klobuchar, criminalizes publication of nonconsensual intimate imagery and mandates tech companies to remove it, with potential FTC enforcement. There's bipartisan appetite for cracking down further on Big Tech, but it will be more difficult for Congress to enact broader kids' online safety legislation, which has run into free speech concerns with GOP leaders in the past. VETS GROUPS RAIL AGAINST MEGABILL PROPOSAL — Veterans' groups are pushing for Republicans to drop an under-the-radar provision in the GOP megabill eliminating a Biden administration rule aimed at preventing for-profit colleges from targeting veterans. The policy, included in the House Education and Workforce portion of the package, would end a requirement that such colleges get no more than 90 percent of their revenue from federal financial aid, including veterans' benefits. Committee Republicans have argued the Biden-era rule targets 'one sector of higher education [instead] of creating a sector-neutral accountability plan.' The Congressional Budget Office estimates repealing the rule would cost $1.6 billion over a decade. Allison Jaslow, CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, called it a 'big handout to for-profit higher education institutions.' Best of POLITICO Pro and E&E: DOGE DATA TRACKER — POLITICO just launched a new Pro tool to track the latest actions by Trump's Department of Government Efficiency. A look at April and May alone reveals over 5,000 new contract, grant or lease cancellations. Pros can search new cuts, additions and modifications by government agency, contractor or congressional district. For access to exclusive reporting and tools like this, subscribe to POLITICO Pro or request a demo of our news service, directories and other products. CAMPAIGN STOP UNDERWOOD PASSES — Rep. Lauren Underwood said Monday she won't join the crowded Democratic field to succeed retiring Sen. Dick Durbin. Underwood, a member of House Democratic leadership, was seen as a potential frontrunner. But she would have run up against two of her House colleagues and the state's lieutenant governor, who's backed politically and financially by Gov. JB Pritzker. TUNNEL TALK USCP CHIEF BLASTS BABBITT SETTLEMENT — The outgoing chief of the U.S. Capitol Police issued an unusual public statement Monday saying he was 'extremely disappointed' with a reported settlement between the Justice Department and the family of Ashli Babbitt, who was shot and killed on Jan. 6, 2021, by an officer guarding the House chamber, Nicholas reports. 'This settlement sends a chilling message to law enforcement nationwide,' Chief Thomas Manger said, noting that a prior DOJ investigation found no wrongdoing by police. SCREENING SNAFU — Sen. Peter Welch and Rep. Pramila Jayapal had to move their Capitol Visitor Center screening of 'No Other Land,' an Oscar-award-winning documentary about Palestinian activists, on Monday night. GOP leadership yanked access to their original room, a person familiar with the situation told Nicholas. House Democratic leadership gave the lawmakers their caucus room to use instead, Welch confirmed to Lisa. Johnson's office did not respond to a request for comment. THE BEST OF THE REST Fetterman Style Made Him Famous, but a Tough Fit for the Senate, from Jonathan Tamari at Bloomberg Government Lawmaker 'Reborn' Through Psychedelic Therapy Wants the GOP to Embrace It, from Olivia Beavers at the Wall Street Journal CAPITOL HILL INFLUENCE FLYING IN — The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute will be on Capitol Hill today and will hold a reception in the Cannon Caucus Room with Heating, Air-Conditioning, and Refrigeration Distributors International and the Plumbing, Heating, Cooling Contractors National Association. David Bortnick has joined government affairs firm SMI as a vice president. He was previously a professional staff member on House Appropriations for 11 years, where he worked on Pentagon and State Department spending issues. FIRST IN POLITICO — Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy harshly criticized Boeing last week for its delays on providing a new Air Force One, telling CBS News that Boeing 'didn't do the job.' But McCarthy didn't disclose that one of the clients of his new PR firm, Watchtower Strategy, is top Boeing rival Lockheed Martin, our Daniel Lippman scooped in POLITICO Influence. McCarthy said in a text that 'I don't do any work for Lockheed but I'm sure Boeing would love to use whatever they can to distract from their inability to deliver Air Force One on time.' Watchtower Strategy didn't respond to a request for comment. JOB BOARD Ramón Correa is now legislative director for Rep. Kweisi Mfume. He previously was oversight director at USDA under Biden and is a Sylvia Garcia alum. HAPPY BIRTHDAY Sen. Mike Crapo … Rep. Nellie Pou … Cindy McCain … former Delaware Gov. John Carney … former Reps. Mark Walker, Nick Rahall and Harold Ford Sr. (8-0) … POLITICO's Julia Marsh … WaPo's Amber Phillips … Rebecca Morin … Ryan Kuresman … Chad Day … Rebecca Eichmann … Cassie Smedile Docksey of Coign … Lauren Wolman of the Anti-Defamation League … Amazon's PJ Hoffman … Brian Darling … Time's Phil Elliott … Christina Bellantoni TRIVIA MONDAY'S ANSWER: John Lin correctly answered that Lincoln Chaffee of Rhode Island was the most recent independent elected as a governor in the continental states. He ran in 2010 and then ran for president afterwards. TODAY'S QUESTION, from John: Which former House party leaders (speakers, majority/minority leaders, whips) were later elected president? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Inside Congress. Send your answers to insidecongress@
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
GOP civil war breaks out over Medicaid as right calls for deeper cuts
Fiscal hawks are lashing out over what they say are the lack of Medicaid reforms in President Trump's legislative package, which could thwart the House GOP's goal of passing the legislation next week. The gripes from conservatives are centered on the House Energy and Commerce Committee's portion of the sprawling package, which beefs up work requirements for Medicaid and imposes more frequent eligibility checks but stops short of more substantial changes — such as siphoning federal funding away from states. 'In my opinion they don't go far enough,' said Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.), a member of the House Freedom Caucus who does not support the package. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) found the panel's work would reduce deficits by more than $880 billion by 2034, exceeding the instructions laid out in the budget resolution. But hard-liners such as Burlison are unconvinced by the CBO's 'funny math.' 'I really don't trust the CBO score,' said Burlison, who told reporters he was shocked the cuts weren't larger. 'At the end of the day, we have a $2 trillion deficit and the fact that we're — we're shuffling the chairs on the top of the Titanic here,' he added. 'So we've got to do more.' Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), another deficit hawk in the Freedom Caucus, said he spoke out against the bill during the conference's closed-door meeting Wednesday morning, along with several others. He wants 'substantial' changes. 'I'm not flexing this as a, because I'm trying to get something for South Carolina,' he told reporters after the meeting. 'I'm trying to get the math in order to get this country back on track financially, and it just hasn't happened.' One of the biggest complaints from conservatives revolves around the work requirements, which demand Medicaid enrollees take part in at least 80 hours of 'community engagement,' including work, community service or a work program. That provision, however, would not take effect until the beginning of 2029 — which hard-liners say is far too late. 'Literally, that's like a parent telling their 25-year-old living in the basement, 'You've got to get a job and move out, but you know what? I'm giving you four years to do it.' It's ridiculous. Nobody works that way,' said Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), the chair of the House Freedom Caucus. Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) echoed that sentiment, saying he was 'a little disappointed.' 'Delaying a lot of these things are like hollow promises,' he added. 'They'll cut that in four years, or they'll phase it in over a longer period of time. And I'd rather see actually aggressive cuts.' Deficit hawks are also miffed that GOP leadership did not go further and lower the federal matching rate for Medicaid, known as the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP). Hard-liners pushed for changes to the FMAP and placing a per-capita cap on people who get coverage from Medicaid expansion, two proposals that moderates dubbed red lines. In the end, centrists won that fight. 'We're still letting the states launder money through Medicaid by paying 90 percent of the cost for an able-bodied adult, when we pay for 57 percent of pregnant women, children, seniors and disabled,' Rep. Keith Self (R-Texas) said. 'It's a money laundering scheme by the states.' The airing of grievances came as Energy and Commerce debates its portion of the bill at a meeting poised to break the record for its longest markup — 27 hours. Hard-liners had pushed for significant spending cuts in the entire package, leading leadership to call for at least $1.5 trillion in slashes — $880 billion of which would come from Energy and Commerce. The panel achieved that goal: According to a draft CBO analysis circulated by Democrats, the bill would reduce federal spending by roughly $912 billion over the decade, with $715 billion coming from the health provision. The scorekeeper also said 8.6 million people would lose insurance. Those results are now drawing scrutiny and caution from both sides of the GOP's ideological spectrum, posing a difficult balancing act for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.). While conservatives complain the cuts are too small, moderates are more guarded and appear nervous to back provisions that were not as significant as they could have been but will still leave millions of more Americans uninsured. 'I'm still reading through it but obviously a lot of the draconian cuts that people were pushing for, I and others were able to prevent, so we're reading through the bill as it's written,' said Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), who represents a swing district. 'There could be some changes there, too,' Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) said. 'There are a lot of people that are unhappy with a lot of provisions.' That hesitation means Johnson may have a difficult time ratcheting up Medicaid cuts to appease hard-liners, as it would almost certainly be met with opposition from moderates. Johnson is remaining even-keeled. Asked by The Hill on Wednesday if he believes the deficit hawks are changing the rules midgame by complaining about the lack of spending cuts after the CBO said the committee reached the minimum $880 billion, Johnson said their gripes are part of the process. 'No, I don't think the goalposts are being moved,' he said. 'I think everybody's just expressing their preferences for the final product, and again, that's part of the process.' The debate over Medicaid cuts is just one disagreement over the GOP's blueprint. The Speaker is also grappling with a heated debate over the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap, which has also pitted moderates against conservatives. Republican centrists from high-tax blue states — including New York, New Jersey and California — have pushed for an increase to the SALT deduction cap, which currently sits at $10,000. The House Ways and Means Committee's portion of the bill proposes a $30,000 cap for individuals making $400,000 or less, a number that SALT Caucus members have vocally rejected. Johnson is now working with those lawmakers to find consensus, with moderates saying they will not support the final package without reasonable SALT relief for their constituents. On the other end of the conference, hard-line conservatives are speaking out against a SALT deduction cap increase because of its costly price tag. Deficit hawks are warning they will not get on board with a higher deduction cap unless it is paid for. 'My view on the SALT Caucus is that, look, I get it. I get you're in that situation, but it costs money. And you can't be the same group of people that are b‑‑‑‑ing or complaining about spending cuts in other areas,' Burlison said. 'If you want your SALT tax deductions, it's got to be paid for, otherwise the American people are going to pay it in debt and deficit and interest rates and inflation.' 'You can't have your cake and eat it too,' he continued. 'If you want your SALT tax deduction to go up, you need to find the savings. So don't complain.' Emily Brooks and Mike Lillis contributed. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
