Republicans struggle for an answer to Democrats’ Medicaid attacks

Democrats across battleground districts are holding Republicans’ feet to the fire over the Medicaid cuts in their signature One Big Beautiful Bill law. 

In advertisements and on debate stages, the Democrats are hammering their opponents over their support for a law that will reduce Medicaid funding by nearly $1 trillion to pay for tax cuts primarily for wealthy individuals and corporations. 

With less than two weeks before the midterm elections, Republicans are playing defense.  

The Trump administration is focusing on fraud, suspending billions of dollars in Medicaid money to states and disenrolling hundreds of thousands of people from ObamaCare.   

Some lawmakers are talking about smaller investments made as part of the law’s $50 billion rural health fund.  

Others are avoiding the issue. 

California Rep. David Valadao (R), who is running for reelection in a district with one of the highest Medicaid populations nationwide, defended his vote for the law.   

“There are no actual cuts” to Medicaid, he said during a recent debate.   

Valadao said the law preserved Medicaid for eligible groups and included additional funding for rural healthcare. 

Last week, Maine Sen. Susan Collins (R) aired an advertisement about how she secured $190 million for her state’s rural hospitals — “the biggest federal investment in rural healthcare in more than 20 years.”  

Collins voted to advance the legislation to the floor and was a key negotiator in securing $50 billion for the law’s rural health transformation fund. She ultimately voted against final passage, joining fellow Republican Sens. Thom Tillis (N.C.) and Rand Paul (Ky.).

During a heated debate........

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