At the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, over two dozen protesters were arrested during a dramatic demonstration against Republican plans to slash Medicaid funding. As lawmakers advanced a sweeping budget proposal that could leave millions uninsured, activists—including many in wheelchairs—filled the halls of the Rayburn House Office Building, chanting and confronting members of Congress. One wheelchair user being escorted out by police shouted, “You will kill me! I’m HIV positive. For 20 years, I have survived on my meds that are $10,000 a month… You look at me—I’m from Youngstown, Ohio.”
According to Capitol Police, “Around 2:00 pm, 25 people were arrested for illegally demonstrating in the Rayburn House Office Building.” The department clarified that “it is against the law to protest inside the congressional buildings,” and noted that “more arrests are currently being made.”
The demonstration was part of a coordinated effort to oppose the Republican-led reconciliation package, which proposes deep cuts to safety net programs such as Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in order to fund tax breaks for the wealthy. Protesters targeted a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing, where lawmakers began markup sessions on key components of the bill.
Committee Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) responded to the disruption by repeatedly pounding his gavel and declaring, “Disruption of congressional business is a violation of law and is a criminal offense.” Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) appealed for leniency, saying, “People feel very strongly because they know they’re losing their healthcare. Many of them are disabled and I don’t want to see them further hurt with their disability in the process of being arrested.”
Julie Farrar, an activist with the disability rights organization ADAPT, told reporters that approximately 90 people from her group participated in the protest, many of whom are on Medicaid or work as direct care providers.
A new analysis released Tuesday by the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the Republican proposal would result in 10.3 million fewer people enrolled in Medicaid by 2034, with the number of uninsured Americans rising by 7.6 million.
President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers have defended the package as fiscally responsible, but critics argue it is a direct assault on working-class Americans. “They do not care about the health and well-being of working people. They only care about filling their pocketbooks, even if it kills the people that depend on these services,” said Analilia Mejia, co-executive director of Popular Democracy in Action.
“The only humane thing to do is to kill the bill before it kills all of us,” Mejia added. “Working people across the country need to call their congressional representatives to let them know what a disgrace this is, and urge them to oppose the Republican budget proposal.”
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) harshly criticized House Republicans for moving forward with the Medicaid cuts “in the dead of night.” As the markup hearing dragged into the early morning hours of Wednesday, she said, “It is shameful that Republicans are rushing ahead with their proposal at 2:38 in the morning, when everyone is asleep, when we’ve asked for the opportunity to do this in the light of day so that people can call their representatives’ offices in order to stop this disaster.”
The GOP plan includes work requirements that would compel Medicaid recipients to prove they are working at least 80 hours per month or participating in other qualifying activities. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the bill would “require states to deny coverage to people applying for Medicaid if they are not already working (or participating in another qualifying activity) at least 80 hours per month, as well as terminate Medicaid for people already enrolled if they cannot document that they are meeting work requirements.”
The organization warned that “evidence shows that much of the coverage loss due to work requirements would occur among people who work or should qualify for an exemption but nevertheless would lose coverage due to red tape.” Although states could exempt many caregivers and people with children, “many others who should be exempt, such as people with disabilities, would not be automatically exempted.” They estimated that between 9.7 million and 14.4 million people could lose Medicaid coverage by 2034 under the plan.
“Let me be clear—this is not a moderate bill, and it is not focused on cutting ‘waste, fraud, and abuse,’” said Rep. Pallone. “Instead, Republicans are intentionally taking healthcare away from millions of Americans so they can give giant tax breaks to the ultra-rich who don’t need them.”
Despite Trump’s previous pledges to protect Medicaid, Republicans on the committee voted down a Democratic amendment that would have required the Health and Human Services Secretary to certify the bill would not reduce any Medicaid benefits offered by states.
Ocasio-Cortez further criticized the GOP for modeling its Medicaid policy on Georgia, a state she noted has one of the highest rates of uninsured people in the country. “The Republican majority has looked at the state with the third-highest number of uninsured Americans and said, ‘That’s what we want to model our Medicaid system after—this catastrophic failure,’” she said.
Republicans also held simultaneous hearings on the proposed cuts to SNAP, with the House Agriculture Committee debating changes that could slash hundreds of billions of dollars from food assistance programs. Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.), the committee’s top Democrat, condemned the effort: “Tonight, you’re taking food away from single moms with 7-year-olds at home—as if being a single parent raising a young child wasn’t hard enough already. And farmers, too, will suffer from your direct attacks on SNAP. Benefits will get cut—and for what? To fund tax breaks for everyone but the middle class.”
Outside the Capitol, the opposition is building. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is mobilizing grassroots organizers through his “Fighting Oligarchy Tour” to pressure lawmakers in swing districts. Meanwhile, advocacy groups like Indivisible are deploying digital tools such as Neighbor2Neighbor to connect constituents with representatives to voice opposition to the cuts.
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