Republicans say Medicaid is safe. But budget math says otherwise

Published March 11, 2025 at 9:56 AM EDT

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US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana, speaks during a press conference about the House Republican's budget on February 25, 2025.

House Republicans have to get their spending bill passed by Friday to avoid a government shutdown. They can likely afford to lose just one vote.

And that's the easy part.

Then they'll have to get working on their plan to extend 4.5 trillion dollars in tax cuts passed under the Trump administration — a plan that will require huge cuts in government spending.

Republicans are adamant that cuts to Medicaid are a non-starter. But the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office released a report last week that said Republicans' budget likely would require cuts to Medicaid or Medicare.

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