House Democrats decry health cuts in GOP tax law during town hall that
previews midterms messaging
[July 11, 2025]
By JACK BROOK
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Democrats used a Louisiana town hall Thursday night
to preview one of their main strategies for attempting to retake the
U.S. House next year, ripping into the health care changes in the
just-passed Republican tax and spending bill.
The top House Democrat, Hakeem Jeffries, said the event in the home
state of House Speaker Mike Johnson was the first stop on a nationwide
tour to educate voters about the bill, which he called “an all-out
assault against the American people.” He also noted that Republicans had
promised not to touch Medicaid, the government health insurance program
for lower-income Americans.
“And during the first chance they got, they do the exact opposite,”
Jeffries told a crowd of several hundred at Xavier University in New
Orleans. “Shame on them.”
The gathering of some of the top House Democrats comes at a crucial time
for the party. It is seeking a pathway back to power in Washington but
is grappling for a message that will resonate with the working class
voters who have migrated toward Republicans in recent elections.
Democratic leaders believe the bill, which President Donald Trump signed
into law on the Fourth of July, will sway voters ahead of the 2026
midterms, when Democrats look to win control of the House and break the
hold Republicans have on the levers of power in Washington.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida said Thursday's event was “step
one” in Democrats' strategy to “make sure people are aware of what
they’re losing and who took it away from them.”
But another congresswoman laid bare one of their challenges. Rep. Robin
Kelly of Illinois said as she has been meeting with constituents, it's
become clear that most of them don't know what's in the bill or how it
might affect them.
The measure includes about $4.5 trillion in tax breaks by extending cuts
made during Trump’s first term, mostly benefiting the wealthiest
Americans, and adding new ones that include no taxes on tips. It also
slashes clean energy tax credits and unleashes hundreds of billions of
dollars for Trump’s national security agenda, including for border
patrol and deportations.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates 11.8 million adults and
children are at risk of losing their health insurance under the bill,
which over time will make it harder to enroll in federal health care
programs, including Medicaid and others created by President Barack
Obama’sAffordable Care Act. Additionally, it estimated 3 million
Americans will no longer qualify for food stamps, also known as SNAP
benefits.
The legislation reduces federal Medicaid spending by $1 trillion.
“All so Republicans can give trillions of dollars in tax breaks to
billionaires and the biggest corporations,” said Democratic Rep. Troy
Carter, who represents much of New Orleans. “It is, in fact, reverse
Robinhood -- stealing from the poor to give to the rich.”
Democrats chose Louisiana as the site of their town hall to highlight
the impact of those cuts. It’s the home state of Johnson and House
Majority Leader Steve Scalise.
Louisiana is among the states expected to lose one-fifth of its Medicaid
budget over the next decade as a result of the bill. An estimated 1.5
million people in the state are enrolled in the health care program, and
the policies could increase the uninsured population by more than
200,000, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. In Johnson’s own
district, the foundation found that some 38% of the residents are
enrolled in Medicaid.
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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries leads a health care town hall
with U.S. Rep Troy Carter, D-La., at Xavier University in New
Orleans, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (John McCusker/The
Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)
Most of the health care changes in the bill, including the new
Medicaid work requirements on certain adults, will not begin until
after next year’s elections, though a number of providers are
already beginning to prepare for potential cutbacks.
Carter said 33 rural hospitals in the state are at risk of closing.
Dr. Takeisha Davis, chief executive of New Orleans East Hospital,
said she was concerned about how health care cuts will affect
patients and the public hospital’s operations. It serves about
300,000 patients a year, roughly 60% of whom are on Medicaid.
Davis was blunt in her assessment of the bill’s potential impact,
saying loss of health care would “cause more preventable deaths in
our area."
CJ Marbley, the hospital's chief nursing officer, told the Democrats
that the majority of maternal births in Louisiana are covered by
Medicaid.
“Any reduction in this critical program has a potential loss of life
for the infant and mother,” he said, while noting that Black women
are four times more likely than white women to die from
complications during pregnancy.
Johnson and Scalise stood with Trump at the White House when he
signed the bill last week and insist the measure will boost the U.S.
economy, strengthen the borders and ensure that millions of
Americans won’t see a tax increase.
Johnson’s office did not respond to requests for comment, but he has
been promoting the bill on social media and previously said that
with it, “We are going to make this country stronger, safer and more
prosperous than ever before.”
Ahead of the town hall, Scalise said Democrats who opposed the bill
will have to explain to the people of Louisiana why they voted
against tax breaks on tips and overtime and extending Trump’s tax
cuts, as well as other provisions he says will help the state.
“Louisianans voted overwhelmingly to put President Donald Trump back
in the White House and give Republicans majorities in the House and
Senate to implement the America First agenda, which is exactly what
we did with the passage of the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill,’ and the
hard-working families of our state will benefit tremendously from
it,” Scalise said in a statement.
Some town hall attendees wondered if Thursday's event might have
been more effective if it had been held somewhere other than the
Democratic stronghold of New Orleans, such as in Johnson's or
Scalise's districts.
“We all believe in these guys -- they need to find the people who
don’t believe,” said New Orleans resident Patricia Owen-McGill, a
74-year-old Democrat.
___
Associated Press Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro in
Washington contributed to this report.
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