As Senate Republicans work to pass a sweeping budget reconciliation package that would impose the largest cuts to Medicaid in decades, former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell reportedly sought to reassure colleagues behind closed doors that the public will eventually move on from the fallout. “I know a lot of us are hearing from people back home about Medicaid. But they’ll get over it,” McConnell told fellow GOP senators during a private meeting on Tuesday, according to Punchbowl News.
His remarks came in response to concerns from Sen. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina), who faces a competitive re-election in 2026 and warned that slashing Medicaid could come with major electoral risks. McConnell reportedly replied, “Failure isn’t an option.”
The reconciliation bill, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, is being pushed by President Donald Trump and Republican leadership as a pillar of their 2025 legislative agenda. The bill would cut federal Medicaid spending by billions of dollars, impose new work requirements, and introduce eligibility restrictions that experts and healthcare workers say would leave millions without coverage. It also contains provisions to cut Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding and eliminate taxes on many firearms and accessories.
In the face of growing criticism, a spokesperson for McConnell later attempted to walk back the senator’s comment, claiming he was referring to “people who are abusing Medicaid” and “the need to withstand Democrats’ scare tactics.”
But the blowback was swift and widespread. “Mitch McConnell told Senate Republicans that Americans concerned about losing Medicaid will ‘get over it.’ No one will ‘get over’ losing a loved one because Republicans in Congress failed them,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts).
“Mitch McConnell just told 1.4 MILLION Kentuckians on Medicaid to ‘get over it’ when they lose their health care. The @KYGOP does not care about the lives of the people in our Commonwealth,” the Kentucky Democratic Party posted on X.
Public polling suggests those fears of political consequences are well-founded. A recent AP/NORC poll found that 50 percent of Americans believe Medicaid is underfunded, while only 18 percent say it receives too much funding. Even among Republican voters, only 33 percent said Medicaid spending is too high.
A separate survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 65 percent of voters initially support Medicaid work requirements. But that support drops to 35 percent when respondents are informed that most Medicaid recipients already work and that the proposed rules could cause many to lose coverage due to bureaucratic red tape.
In Washington, the Senate’s reconciliation plan is facing loud and growing protest. On Wednesday, over 60 people were arrested in the Russell Senate Building Rotunda during a civil disobedience action against the Medicaid cuts. The demonstration was led by Popular Democracy in Action and included members of organizations such as ADAPT, the Service Employees International Union, Planned Parenthood, Debt Collective, Stand Up Alaska, and Action NC.
“Today, over 60 people were arrested in the Russell Senate Building Rotunda in a powerful act of nonviolent civil disobedience” against “cuts to essential social programs like Medicaid” and SNAP, said Popular Democracy in Action. Protesters unfurled large banners reading “Senate Republicans Don’t Kill Us, Save Medicaid.”
The group added, “Nearly 80 percent of Americans support preserving and expanding Medicaid, yet this bill would do the opposite—slashing $880 billion from care to fund $4.5 trillion in tax breaks for billionaires. Over 16 million people could lose coverage over the next decade if the proposed spending bill passes, and new work requirements threaten to strip lifesaving care from those who need it most.”
“If you’re zip-tying grandmas protesting losing healthcare maybe you’re not the good guys in the story?” read a post from The Tennessee Holler, which covered the protest and the arrests.
Among those protesting was Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, who said the GOP legislation would have devastating impacts on reproductive healthcare. “Half of our patients rely on Medicaid to get access to care,” she said. “What they would do, is put at risk a third of all of our health centers, and there’s nowhere for our patients to go to be absorbed into the system. That puts at risk access to contraception, breast exams, cancer exams, wellness exams, access to STI testing and treatment—just to give billionaires a tax break.”
“And here’s a kicker, for the 1 million patients who rely on that care, 90% of those health centers are in states with abortion access,” she continued. “So we need to call this what it is: a backdoor abortion ban.”
The protest followed a press conference earlier in the day featuring Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who joined activists in calling for rejection of the reconciliation bill. “I’m the point person for the Democrats in this fight—and it’s the most important fight I’ve ever been in, because this battle this week is going to determine the future of American healthcare,” said Wyden. “Are you for caviar or kids? Mar-a-Lago or the middle class? Hedge funds or healthcare? I know what side you’re on—now we have got to make sure that a whole lot of Senate Republicans make the right choice too.”
While it is unclear whether any Senate Republicans will defect from the bill, some—including Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri), Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Jerry Moran (R-Kansas)—have raised concerns about the impact of Medicaid cuts on rural hospitals in their states.
Outside the Capitol, progressive groups are urging Senate Democrats to use every available procedural tool to stall the bill’s passage. The advocacy group Indivisible issued an urgent call encouraging constituents to contact senators and demand that they slow down or obstruct the process through tactics such as the vote-a-rama, where senators may offer unlimited amendments to prolong debate.
“Your Democratic senators can make voting on this bill slower, more divisive, and more politically damaging than any vote these Republicans have ever taken,” the group said in an email. “In fact, that’s what this moment demands of them and what we expect.”
Indivisible emphasized that delaying the process could give advocates more time to fracture the GOP coalition. “The longer we can drag this process out, the more we can toxify a bill that Republicans are already publicly tearing apart,” the group said. “The more we can toxify the bill, the better the chance we can ultimately defeat it.”
The reconciliation bill is expected to move to a Senate vote before the July 4th recess. Under reconciliation rules, it needs only a simple majority to pass and cannot be filibustered. If passed, the House and Senate would need to agree on an identical version for it to become law.
Despite the mounting opposition, McConnell remains adamant about passing the bill. “Failure is not an option,” he said Tuesday.
Participants in the protest vowed to continue fighting. “The stuff we’re fighting for, the kind of healthcare, long-term services, housing, well-paid work with paid days off and benefits—those are the things we’ve fought for for 50 years,” said Mike Oxford of ADAPT. “We’ve been fighting for years… we’re not backing down.”
COMMENTS