The fight is not over in wake of passage of harmful federal Republican Megabill

This past July 4 — as many people across our state and country were celebrating the official birth of our nation with cookouts, lake days and fireworks — an unconscionable federal Republican Megabill was signed into law by the Trump administration that will take food and health care away from millions of Americans in order to fund huge tax breaks for our country’s wealthiest households. The bill also includes a massive funding increase for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at a time when ICE agents are relentlessly violating civil rights and traumatizing immigrant families. 

The profound irony is not lost on us that this bill became law on a day meant to commemorate the adoption of our country’s Declaration of Independence and, yet, it will effectively strip away the freedom of everyday people to provide for their loved ones, keep food on the table, feel safe in their communities and build a healthy future. 

While the impacts of this bill will be felt by all of us, it will have a catastrophic impact on families with low incomes who depend on programs like Medicare and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for their health care and nutritional needs. It is estimated that as many as 700,000 are at risk of losing health coverage and more than 120,000 Michiganders could lose access to food as a result of its passage. Hospitals, especially those in rural areas, will also face potential closures due to Medicaid revenue losses, leaving health care workers at risk of losing their jobs and further constraining Michiganders’ access to health care in areas that are already underserved. Our state budget will also be significantly impacted, resulting in huge deficits of $8.5 billion in Medicaid expansion funds and up to $304 million in SNAP funds. These are massive funding gaps that Michigan can’t afford to fill.

The opposition for this bill has been widespread and it’s pretty clear why. Not only will the wealthiest 20% of Americans benefit from nearly 70% of the tax cuts, but families with the lowest incomes will see a mere 1% reduction and the majority will end up financially worse off because they will be paying more for critical services that are being ripped away from them.

A significant amount of effort went into appealing to the humanity of Michigan’s congressional delegation, especially in the days leading up to this reckless bill’s passage, and, yet, every single Republican member of Congress from our state decided to turn their backs on their constituents and put their stamp of approval on what we know is one of the most dangerous and destructive pieces of legislation to come out of Washington, D.C. in our nation’s history. They voted to spend trillions of dollars in a way that will significantly increase poverty and hunger, worsen health outcomes for millions of people, and push the largest transfer of wealth from working families to the wealthy elite this country has ever seen.

The so-called “big, beautiful bill,” which is anything but beautiful, has also granted broad overreach to the Trump administration when it comes to other key issues, including immigration. The bill gives an unprecedented $175 billion to ICE for mass deportation operations and expands detention capacity to over 116,000 people daily. An agreement was also recently revealed between the Trump administration’s U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that grants ICE access to the personal data of all 79 million Medicaid enrollees, including more than 2.6 million Michiganders, to further aid in their mass deportation operations. The League joined the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan in condemning this agreement and calling it out for what it is: a direct attack on public health, civil liberties and the trust that underpins our health care system. Weaponizing Medicaid data for immigration enforcement will create a dangerous chilling effect, deterring immigrants and their families from seeking the care they need, while putting entire communities at risk.

In the latest installment of our Stakes are High campaign, you can learn more about why it is so critically important for us to make sure that the 738,000 immigrants who call Michigan home feel safe and welcome here. These are our neighbors, co-workers and business owners and they contribute significantly to our local communities and our state economy. It is not only a moral imperative, but an economic necessity for us to ensure our immigrant communities are protected.

So, what’s next? It’s time to let your lawmakers know what you think about their vote on the so-called “big, beautiful bill.” We’ve created an easy way for Michiganders to say THANK YOU if their lawmaker voted AGAINST this destructive bill and to express their extreme DISAPPOINTMENT if their lawmaker voted in FAVOR of it. We also encourage you to keep an eye out for the League’s full analysis of the potential impacts of the federal budget bill, which we plan to release this August. 

We are heartened by the extraordinary efforts of our fellow partners across the state who joined us in doing everything they could to try to stop this bill…and we know this fight is not over. In the months ahead, we’ll regroup and continue to push back against harmful actions by our leaders in Washington, D.C., who were elected to serve all of us — not just millionaires and billionaires. Together, we can build better, more equitable systems that truly work for everyone. Even after this major setback, our commitment to care for each other and our communities is resilient and unwavering. There is hope in that.