Trump tells House GOP not to "f**k around" with Medicaid
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President Trump warned congressional Republicans on Tuesday not to "f**k around" with Medicaid, a stark pushback to conservative lawmakers demanding steeper cuts to the program in "one big, beautiful bill."
Why it matters: Trump is already floating political retribution for Republican holdouts who don't get in line.
- He also tore into Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who has been a firm "no" on the bill throughout the process, blasting him publicly and privately as a "grandstander" and saying he should be "voted out of office."
- Trump also warned the GOP's blue state holdouts not to push too hard on the SALT deduction cap.
What we're hearing: The president stressed to GOP lawmakers that they should limit Medicaid cuts to targeting waste, fraud and abuse.
- Coming out of the meeting, that was a message right-wingers who have pushed for substantial Medicaid cuts echoed: "That's where we should focus our reductions," said Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.).
- Still, some on the right are still holding out for meaningful enough cuts to offset the deficit impact of the bill's tax cuts. SALT caucus members, too, are digging in.
Zoom in: House Freedom Caucus chair Andy Harris (R-Md.), a key holdout on the bill, said he wants stronger limits on Medicaid provider taxes, which states use to help finance their share of the program's costs.
- "Even the Democrats call the provider tax a scam, and yet the provider tax is mostly intact in the bill in its current form," he said.
- That's in direct conflict with the demands of moderates like Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-Pa.), who said those limits are "non-starter."
The big picture: Millions of people could lose health coverage if the current reconciliation bill's Medicaid cuts become law.
- "President Trump and Republicans are protecting and preserving Medicaid for the Americans who the program was intended to be a lifeline for: pregnant women, children, disabled individuals, and seniors," White House spokesperson Kush Desai told Axios' Emily Peck.
- That White House list of people who need Medicaid doesn't include the poorer working-age adults without kids who gained coverage under the Affordable Care Act's expansion of Medicaid.
Axios' Peter Sullivan contributed reporting for this story.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional reporting.
