Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., touted a “great talk” he had with President Donald Trump about Medicaid, saying Monday there would be no benefit cuts.
Hawley has been a staunch defender of Medicaid during the “big, beautiful bill” negotiations and been outspoken about cutting benefits. He was shaping up to be one of roughly a half-dozen GOP senators primed to dig in on the budget bill passed by the House over Medicaid cuts.
Not anymore, apparently. Trump has asserted from the beginning that the only cuts to Medicaid would be “waste, fraud, and abuse.”
“Just had a great talk with President Trump about the Big, Beautiful Bill. He said again, NO MEDICAID BENEFIT CUTS,” Hawley said in a post to X.
In a New York Times opinion piece earlier this month, Hawley argued that cutting Medicaid benefits “is both morally wrong and politically suicidal.” However, he does support work requirements, which is included in the megabill.
Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska were also troubled by the proposed Medicaid cuts.
Hurdles still remain with Republican senators who maintain the House version did not do enough to cut spending. That camp has been led by Sens. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and Rand Paul, R-Ky. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., too, has joined the call to restore “fiscal sanity” in the bill.
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