Senator Elizabeth Warren and former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers are voicing their concerns over the provisions of the recently passed “One Big, Beautiful Bill,” warning of significant consequences for working American families.
What Happened
On Tuesday, Warren criticized Republicans for backing the bill, saying they now “own the fact” that 17 million people are projected to lose health care coverage. She added that the cuts will lead to higher grocery prices, rising student loan payments, and increased utility bills. “We will never let Republicans forget they chose Trump over the American people,” Warren said.
The Bill’s Provisions
The bill proposes cuts worth $930 billion on the Medicaid health program and food aid for low-income Americans, alongside the green energy incentives instituted by former President Joe Biden. It is also set to increase the Federal Government’s debt ceiling by $5 trillion.
Reactions from Leaders
Every single Republican now owns the fact that:
17 million people will lose health care;
the cost of groceries will go up;
student loan payments will go up;
and utility bills will go up.We will never let Republicans forget they chose Trump over the American people.
— Elizabeth Warren
Summers, a Democrat who served under Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, echoed Warren’s criticism. “The cruelty of the cuts in OBBB is matched only by their stupidity,” he says, warning that reductions in Medicaid would shift unreimbursed care costs to hospitals, which would then get passed on to patients.
Broader Consequences
Summers warned that the $1 trillion Medicaid cut could lead to more than 100,000 avoidable deaths over a decade, citing peer-reviewed studies and comparisons to Reagan-era welfare reductions. “I don’t remember any past Fourth of July when I’ve felt more ashamed of my country,” he says.
The cruelty of the cuts in OBBB is matched only by their stupidity. Medicaid beneficiaries will lose, but so will the rest of us. The cost of care that is no longer reimbursed by Medicaid will instead be borne by hospitals and passed onto paying patients, only at higher levels,…
— Lawrence H. Summers
Why It Matters
Senator Bernie Sanders slammed the bill as “the most dangerous piece of legislation in the modern history of our country,” while adding that its provisions were a “gift to the billionaire class.” The bill has come under criticism from several Republican leaders as well, with Rep. Thomas Massie warning that its passage could lead to the downgrading of U.S. debt to BBB status, signaling financial distress.
GOP senators, Ron Johnson and Rand Paul, have similarly warned against the bill, saying that it could fuel deficits and inflation. Even President Donald Trump’s former ally, Elon Musk, described the bill as a “massive, outrageous, pork-filled” spending package, referring to it as a “disgusting abomination.”