Arizona Republicans vote to take healthcare, food aid away from constituents

Arizona Republicans in the US House on Thursday voted to pass a budget proposal that cuts roughly $1 trillion from healthcare and food aid in order to help fund tax cuts for corporations and the wealthiest Americans.

The so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” cuts Medicaid by at least $698 billion, putting hundreds of thousands of Arizonans at risk of losing their health care, and makes another $300 billion in cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Roughly 1 million Arizonans rely on SNAP to put food on the table, and many of them could lose their benefits under the budget. 

The bill passed in a 215-214 vote. Just two Republicans joined Democrats in voting no: Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Warren Davidson of Ohio. Every Arizona Republican voted for the bill, except Rep. David Schweikert, who was late to the vote, but said he would’ve voted to pass it had he been present. 

Medicaid recipients, healthcare advocates, medical leaders, and Democrats have spent weeks warning that the bill’s cuts to Medicaid would be devastating for Arizonans. 

“Such cuts would cut off hundreds of thousands of Arizonans from vital services and would impact Arizona’s overall economy. Especially at this time when families are already struggling to afford a roof over their heads and a trip to the grocery store, our federal lawmakers should protect, not cut essential health services or cause loss of jobs in our state,” The Children’s Action Alliance, an Arizona-based advocacy group, said in a statement last month. 

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), a non-partisan federal agency that provides analysis and estimates to Congress on the budget and economic decisions, wrote in a letter to Democratic House leadership that the bill will primarily benefit the wealthiest of households while taking resources away from lower-income households.

The CBO estimates that 7.6 million people nationwide could lose Medicaid as a result of the cuts, and lower-income households would in turn see a decrease in resources as a result of cuts to Medicaid and SNAP. Comparatively, resources for higher-income households would increase as a direct result of the tax cuts included in the bill.

@coppercourier

Hundreds of thousands of Arizonans who rely on Medicaid, or AHCCCS, could be at risk due to a new GOP-backed budget proposal. While most Arizona Republicans are aligned with the GOP to pass the budget, Rep. Juan Ciscomani and Rep. David Schweikert could still be swayed. Here’s what you need to know. #azpol #azpolitics #arizona #arizonapolitics #medicare #medicareforall #medicaid #medicaidbenefits #medicaidcuts #medicaidotc #medicaidplanning #medicaidforall #arizona #arizonastate #arizonalife

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Schweikert, whose district includes Scottsdale and other parts of northeastern Maricopa County, faced pressure from his constituents to vote no on the bill, but was ultimately unmoved by their pleas. 

US Republican Juan Ciscomani of Tucson, who co-signed a letter to GOP leadership asking for no cuts to Medicaid, also supported the legislation, voting to pass it even as it is estimated to throw over 28,000 people in his district off Medicaid, according to the Center for American Progress, a liberal thinktank. 

Rep. Eli Crane, who represents the Navajo Nation, voted for the cuts which would leave 41,000 of his constituents at risk of losing their coverage over the next decade. Two counties Crane represents, Apache County and Navajo County, have among the highest county-level share of seniors on Medicaid in the US, meaning they could be hit particularly hard by the bill’s cuts. The cuts to Medicaid could also have devastating effects on rural hospitals, which often depend on Medicaid funding to continue operations. 

Schweikert, Ciscomani, and Crane all represent swing districts. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee lists all three as “districts in play” — those with the highest chances of flipping blue in the next election cycle. 

But Arizona’s GOP representatives have no regrets. 

In a statement posted on X, Rep. Ciscomani praised the bill’s passage, calling it “just common sense.” 

Rep. Paul Gosar, who represents Arizona’s 9th Congressional District, said in a statement, “I am very pleased to have voted in favor of legislation advancing President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill.”

Rep. Hamadeh, who represents Arizona’s 8th Congressional District, said he “proudly” voted in favor of the budget. 

Arizona’s Democratic representatives, Rep. Greg Stanton and Rep. Yassamin Ansari, voted no on the bill.

“House Republicans have spent months lying and hiding from their own plan, but here’s the truth: this bill makes the largest cuts to Medicaid in history, kicking 300,000 Arizonans off their health insurance and raising prices for the rest. It kills tens of thousands of clean energy jobs in Arizona. And it jacks up the cost of living for the families I represent while handing massive tax breaks to billionaires,” Stanton said in a statement.

Rep. Ansari said the budget “betrays the American people,” and calls the bill “draconian,” in a press release.

The bill now goes to the Senate.