The worst bill in modern history

Democrats must make it a career-ender for Republicans.

Senate Republicans over the weekend decided to move forward on the big, ugly bill to rip healthcare coverage from 17 million people, deprive millions of food assistance, and use that money to pay (only partially!) for gigantic tax cuts for the super-rich. Their version is far worse than the House’s handiwork; Senate Republicans want to cut more than $1 trillion from Medicaid. Apparently, they concluded the House’s $700 billion cut did not throw a sufficient number of people off their healthcare coverage. An estimated 17 million (including those priced out of the Affordable Care Act exchanges) would lose healthcare coverage

Even those who mouthed concerns about the draconian cuts, including Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) fell into line, voting to move the bill forward. They are daring voters not to hold them accountable for their monstrous hypocrisy.

Lawmakers are not in the dark. Their constituents, rural hospitals, state and local officials, the Congressional Budget Office, conservative think tanks, the Wall Street Journal, and their Democratic colleagues have explained the bill’s horrid consequences. Republicans might parrot MAGA talking points, but when Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) distributes materials to fellow Republicans highlighting the devastation the bill will cause, only the truly deluded can imagine this is anything but horrid policy. (The Hill quoted a source familiar with the scene at Tuesday’s Senate Republican lunch: “Thom Tillis got up and he had a chart on what the Senate’s provider tax structure will cost different states, including his. His will lose almost $40 billion. He walked through that and said, ‘this will be devastating to my state.’”)

Senate Republicans have been hammered from all sides. On the right, the Committee for a Responsible budget found it would add $3.5-4.2 trillion to the debt and move the Medicare and Social Security trust funds a year closer to insolvency. Meanwhile, Republican senators with Democratic governors (e.g., Josh Stein in North Carolina, Laura Kelly in Kansas, Josh Shapiro in Pennsylvania, and Janet Mills in Maine) got slammed daily on the consequences of Medicaid, SNAP, and other cuts back home.

Aside from the disastrous policy objections, Republicans should not delude themselves about the political quicksand they stepped in. The reverse-Robin-Hood scheme is deeply unpopular in every recent public poll. A Fox News poll shows only 38% support it, while 59% oppose it. (Among independents, it is a stunning 22-73%.) Quinnipiac’s poll is even worse for MAGA (27-53%; among independents 20-57%.) KFF (35-64%; only 27% of independents support); Pew (49-29%) and The Washington Post and Ipsos (23-42%) are miserable as well.

Perhaps the scariest poll for Republicans was one from Maine showing Collins sure has reason for “concern”: Her favorability is a miserable 14% with disapproval at 57%. Mills, the strongest potential 2026 challenger, has a 51-41% favorability rating. Come to think of it, maybe Collins should forget “concern” and zoom ahead to full-blown panic.

Moreover, the longer the bill has been out in public, the less popular it has become. NPR reported that “83% of the public have favorable views of Medicaid. Just a few months ago, in January, that figure was 77% of the public.” Even three-quarters of Republicans now appreciate a program that covers children, the poor, seniors in nursing homes, and addiction recovery program participants. By 2026, a high percentage of voters should know exactly what this bill does to them.

Put simply, President Donald Trump might strong-arm enough Republicans to vote for a bill that constitutes not only the largest Medicaid cut in history but also a historic transfer of wealth from middle- and low-income Americans to the wealthiest. However, he cannot save them from voters. Not only obviously vulnerable Republicans (e.g., Tillis, Collins) but also Republicans who never imagined they would be in jeopardy (e.g. Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas) could well find this a career-ending vote. Senate Republicans might well regret gambling on voters’ short memories.

Democrats should make certain the culprits are held accountable. Democrats have had two goals throughout this process, only one of which was within their control.

First, they aimed to make the vote so toxic that this will be an albatross around Republicans’ necks in 2026. Judging from polls, they have succeeded in their herculean job challenging GOP provisions in the Byrd bath, pressuring senators, enlisting local stakeholders, and communicating to the public at large how horrible the bill truly is. They have positioned themselves for a blue wave in 2026 to sweep to control of the House and narrow, if not eliminate, their disadvantage in the Senate. Whether or not the MAGA GOP forces the bill down the throats of members, Democrats now have a perfect vehicle to lead their 2026 comeback.

The second goal—actually defeat a bill this monstrous to protect millions of fellow Americans—was a long shot from the start. Though they pulled off a stunning victory to prevent ACA repeal in 2017, in 2025 Democrats have fewer plausible allies on the Republican side. Trump has a tighter grip on the Senate now, and the current batch of Republicans is more spineless.

The Democratic base, rightfully underwhelmed by elected Democrats’ efforts earlier this year, should acknowledge Senate Democrats left nothing on the field in their battle to delay and upset the worst piece of legislation in history. The task for organizers, activists, and ordinary Democratic voters between now and 2026 is to make sure every voter knows who is responsible for this shambolic legislation and which party fought tooth and nail to stop it.

Elections have consequences, and the passage of a bill as damaging as this following Democrats’ 2024 defeat should remind every Democratic, independent, and disgusted Republican voter that the only way to halt and reverse the assault on America is to start defeating MAGA’s assault on average Americans.

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