Republicans Are Already Running From Medicaid Cuts

If you find our work to be essential and of value, please consider supporting The Daily by becoming a subscriber.The other shoes are beginning to drop, and it looks like House Republicans are looking for an off-ramp from the unpopular Medicaid cuts in the reconciliation bill.Recently, Politico reported:For instance, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) — who ultimately voted for the sweeping domestic policy package — pledged to ensure that cuts to state taxes that fund Medicaid would never take effect.Sixteen House moderates similarly urged Speaker Mike Johnson in a letter in June to revert the Senate’s language. They all ended up voting for the bill, but at least some were also thinking that there was an opportunity to revisit the deep cuts in the future.“Any of the changes in the provider tax don’t go into effect until ’28, so he’s right, there’s time,” Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) said about Hawley’s comments, though he added that the system does “have to be reformed” and that “we’re on the right track.”Then, Speaker Mike Johnson announced during an appearance on Fox News Sunday that he wants to do two more reconciliation bills, one in the fall and one in the spring.The Daily is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. After this announcement, it all started to make sense. House and Senate Republicans are going to try to claim credit for cutting Medicaid among their base, but they will also attempt to roll back those cuts before they take effect in 2028. Republicans are trying to have it both ways, but they are already on record as voting to take healthcare away from 17 million Americans, and the American people aren’t going to forget.The battle to prevent health insurance from being taken away from millions isn’t over. It has at least two more rounds to go.What do you think about Republicans trying to get out of the Medicaid cuts that they voted for? Share your thoughts in the comments below. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thedailypoliticususa.com/subscribe