House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks to reporters inside the Capitol building in Washington., D.C., on Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)
Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday mustered a mostly party-line 218-214 vote to approve President Donald Trump’s signature federal tax and spending bill, which will head to his desk for a signature on Friday, July 4.
The bill’s passage marked a major victory for U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) and U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota) after weeks of dissension and some initial defections. The bill includes a wide swath of tax and spending cuts that some have warned would kick millions off Medicaid and force states to take up the bulk of costs on key social programs.
While Democrats in Michigan castigated the bill’s passage as doing real harm to the most vulnerable, GOP members of Congress cheered the action, saying it delivers on Trump’s various campaign promises.
Each member of Michigan’s Republican congressional delegation voted in favor of the bill, including U.S. Rep. John James of Shelby Township, who has previously declared his intention to seek the Michigan GOP nomination for governor in 2026.
“We’re cutting taxes on tips and overtime, protecting Social Security, rebuilding American manufacturing, and putting an end to handouts for illegal immigrants and able-bodied adults who won’t work,” James wrote in a statement shared on X. “This bill secures our border, strengthens our economy, and keeps our word to the American people.”
U.S. Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Bruce Township), the House Republican Caucus chairwoman, told ABC News that “people in my district” wanted Medicaid dollars only going to the most vulnerable, and not undocumented immigrants or others that Republicans have deemed ineligible to receive those funds with new work requirements.
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“We know that Medicaid isn’t exactly on solid ground, so we really need to make sure that when we put a dollar into that Medicaid program, that it is going to the most vulnerable,” McClain said. “That’s what Republicans have done. They have shored up Medicaid, making sure that the most vulnerable get those benefits that they deserve, and that they get them for the future to come.”
She called Democratic Party efforts to stall, upend or warn people about the consequences of the bill “fear mongering” and equated it to gaslighting the American people.
U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Zeeland), who is a potential candidate for the U.S. Senate in Michigan, posted on X that he was attending the enrollment session for the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” with Johnson, noting that it would be sent to Trump to sign on Friday.
Huizenga called the process “a long, but very important journey for the future of America.”
U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Tipton) said in a statement released by the U.S. House Education & Workforce Committee, of which Walberg chairs, that Congress took decisive action to bring cost downs for Americans – a claim that will be watched closely by critics of the bill.
“This bill puts forward the first set of significant conservative reforms to the higher education landscape in two decades,” Walberg said. “And thanks to the Committee and House Republicans’ initiative and hard work, the One Big Beautiful Bill will help maintain America’s world-class higher education system.”
U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett (R-Charlotte) in a statement said he believed the bill would “prevent the largest tax hike in American history, lower energy costs, and permanently secure our border – all while protecting the integrity of Medicaid and SNAP for those who need them most.”
“This legislation will create thousands of good-paying jobs to boost our economy, ensure the middle class keeps more money in their pockets, and invest in a brighter future for America,” Barrett said. “It also delivers on promises made to hardworking families and businesses in Michigan: no tax on tips or overtime, permanent tax relief, an expanded Child Tax Credit, and more.”
Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) called the budget bill “one more huge win for Michigan thanks to President Trump.”
“Under this plan, working families will get to keep more of their paychecks,” Hall said in a statement. “Our border will be far more secure and criminal illegal aliens will be removed from our communities. The American military will be even stronger. And taxpayers will finally see better value for their dollars as wasteful programs and fraud are cut out of the budget. This is exactly what Americans voted for, and this is what Michigan needs to be successful.”
Democrats decry bill’s passage as a ‘fail’ for Michigan
Meanwhile, Michigan Democrats sharply criticized the bill, calling out its impacts on vital programs like Medicaid and food assistance while noting the plan largely benefits the richest in our country.
U.S. Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-Bay City) reiterated her “no” vote in a statement, saying the bill would make life more expensive for Michigan residents, who are already facing high costs.
“Working families will lose their health care, children will go hungry, and our seniors will lose access to long-term care, all to pay for massive tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy. Everybody will see daily costs go up like health care, utility bills, and food to help Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos make more money,” McDonald Rivet said.
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) called the bill “an act of violence against our communities,” marking the largest cut to Medicaid in history.
“Republicans should be ashamed of themselves for saying the people losing their health care will just ‘get over it’ because ‘we’re all going to die.’ They are responsible for the over 50,000 people who will die unnecessarily every year because of this deadly budget,” Tlaib said.
U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Detroit) highlighted how the bill’s cuts to Medicaid and SNAP would harm his constituents, calling it a betrayal of the working class.
“My district has the fourth highest SNAP participation rate in the country at 29%, and 47% of our district relies on Medicaid to get the healthcare they need to survive. My decision to vote no on this bill was the easiest I’ve had as an elected official, as these cuts will deeply harm every single person in my congressional district,” Thanedar said.
In addition to raising concerns on the bill’s impacts on healthcare and food assistance, U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham) noted the package would eliminate investments into manufacturing and place rural hospitals at risk of closure as a result of its cuts to medicaid.
“This bill will benefit the millionaires and billionaires like Donald Trump at the expense of Michiganders. I will continue to stand up to this Administration every single day, until we finally see a deal that works for Michigan and the people I care so deeply about,” Stevens pledged.
U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-Grand Rapids), similarly committed to working for her constituents, after citing the 218-214 margin on which the bill passed as evidence that it will have disastrous consequences.
“Our work is not over. Today is a disappointing day for our nation, but we will continue to work towards the future that West Michigan deserves,” Scholten said in a social media post.
Also in a social media post, U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Ann Arbor) called the bill one of the most consequential, devastating, dangerous bills Congress had passed in recent history, questioning why anyone would vote in support of the policy.
“This bill is a complete and total failure. The American people overwhelmingly disagree with it, and will not forget those who chose to vote for this cruelty,” she said.
Curtis Hertel Jr., chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, slammed Republican members of the state’s congressional delegation for their support of the bill, honing his criticism on members sitting in vulnerable Congressional districts.
“Congressmen James, Barrett, and Huizenga are betraying the very Michiganders they promised to serve when they chose Donald Trump’s reckless agenda over parents with cancer and hungry children,” Hertel said, noting “Michiganders will not forget what they’ve done when November comes.”
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee similarly honed its criticism on Barrett and Huizenga, with Chair Suzan DelBene calling their support for the bill “the latest and loudest declaration of the fact that they will always prioritize serving Republicans’ billionaire campaign donors at the expense of the children, families, and workers they’re supposed to represent.”
“The DCCC will make sure every battleground voter knows how vulnerable House Republicans — including Barrett and Huizenga — abandoned them by passing the most unpopular piece of legislation in modern American history, and we’re going to take back the House majority because of it,” DelBene said.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer lambasted James, Barrett and Huizenga, while applauding her Democratic colleagues for opposing the bill.
“I stand with them and remain committed to doing everything in my power to defend Michiganders. It’s time to stop playing politics with people’s lives and get to work on real, commonsense solutions that improve people’s lives.”
With James running as one of the Republican hopefuls in Michigan’s 2026 gubernatorial election, the Democratic Governors Association laid into the representative as a key vote on the tax and spending bill.
The DGA similarly criticized former Michigan House Speaker Tom Leonard for his support of the plan, while calling on Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt (R-Porter Township) and Former Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox – other high profile Republicans seeking the governorship – to “be clear about whether they, like their competitors, support taking away Michiganders’ health care all to pay for big tax cuts for the wealthy.”
Groups continue to ring alarms over Medicaid cuts
Various political advocacy groups also sounded off in statements released Thursday, mostly calling out the bill and those who voted for it.
“We will not forget when you put the pocketbooks of billionaires and your own greedy political ambitions above the health of your people,” said Monique Stanton, CEO of the Michigan League of Public Policy. “And when health clinics and hospitals close and the stories of loss begin to spread, these same lawmakers will try to place blame on the states. When Michiganders lose their lifesaving coverage over unnecessary additional bureaucratic hurdles, these same lawmakers will claim they are preventing fraud, waste and abuse, of which there is no evidence.”
The result of cutting Medicaid funds could be devastating to Michigan’s health care infrastructure, costing Michigan hospitals more than $6 billion over the next decade as facilities attempt to maintain the same level of care, said Brian Peters, CEO of the Michigan Health & Hospital Association, in a statement.
About 70% of Medicaid, for which 1 in 4 Michiganders is a recipient, is federally funded while the state funds the other 30%. As states navigate how to continue health care coverage for millions of residents, Michigan hospitals may have to eliminate service lines or close down entire facilities, Peters said.
“This bill is an attack on Medicaid, expanded health insurance coverage and healthcare access. We are extremely disappointed with the actions taken by Congress. Today is an extremely large step backwards for making and keeping our communities healthier,” Peters said.
The bill’s one-year ban on state Medicaid funds for certain health care nonprofits that provide abortions could force Planned Parenthood to shut down nearly 200 health centers across the country, eliminating another sector of Michigan’s public health care system Ashlea Phenicie, chief external affairs officer of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan said in a statement earlier this week.
The bill aims to effectively shutdown Planned Parenthood health clinics and impose an abortion ban even in states like Michigan where abortion rights are law, Phenicie said.