Massive spending bill passes final vote in Congress with Medicaid cuts intact
A large spending proposal in Congress—dubbed the “big, beautiful bill” by President Donald Trump—passed a vote in the House of Representatives today, two days after the Senate approved it in a narrow 51-50 vote, with Vice President JD Vance breaking the tie.
It now heads to Trump’s desk, where it’s expected to be signed. The president has been a vocal proponent of the budget reconciliation bill, which he contends will provide tax breaks to the middle and working class, while improving the efficiency of the federal government.
Opponents of the legislation think otherwise. In an interview with MSNBC, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT)—who voted no on its passage—said the massive spending bill contains subsidies for large companies, while gutting social safety nets such as Medicaid and food stamps.
"[This is] maybe the largest transfer of wealth from low income and working people to the top 1%, and as you indicated, we're talking about $1 trillion in tax breaks to the 1% and in the midst of all that, there's over $200 billion going to the top two-tenths of 1%," he said. "Families that inherit more than $30 million—so this is not just a gift to the 1%. I have to admit, they paid for it."
Sanders added that the campaign finance system allowed companies and wealthy individuals to heavily influence the contents of the bill's text, in a way he thinks should be outlawed. He said passage will allow donors of President Trump to reclaim some of the money they lost in the form of tax breaks and subsidies.
“It really is quite disgusting that you give tax breaks to people who don't need it,” Sanders added.
Trump said he opposes Medicaid cuts
Despite Trump’s assurances that Medicaid would remain untouched, the bill includes a significant reduction in spending on Medicaid by some 20%, meaning states will have to put up more money to cover residents and support regional health initiatives.
It also notably reduces federal spending on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which supports low-income families who struggle to pay for food. Similarly, funding for school lunch programs are set to be slashed.
“You throw 16 million people off the healthcare that they have, you cut nutrition programs for hungry kids, you make it harder for working class young people to afford to go to college—this is really an obscene piece of legislation,” Sanders added.
It’s unclear whether President Trump is fully aware of everything in the document, as it’s been difficult to follow. At 940 pages, the spending package contains an enormous amount of information and changed rapidly as it advanced through both houses of Congress.
The House approved the bill by a narrow 218 to 214 vote on Thursday, divided along party lines.
Chad is an award-winning writer and editor with over 15 years of experience working in media. He has a decade-long professional background in healthcare, working as a writer and in public relations.