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chip roy
After 'Backroom Deal' to Make Medicaid Cuts Even Worse, GOP Advances Budget Bill
"The only reason this vote passed tonight is because they've plotted behind closed doors to hurt even more families."
May 19, 2025
Republicans pushed their massive reconciliation bill through the House Budget Committee late Sunday after striking a deal with GOP hardliners who tanked a vote on the package late last week, complaining that the measure's proposed cuts to Medicaid and other programs were not sufficiently aggressive.
The final vote on Sunday was 17-16, with the four Republicans who voted against the bill on Friday switching their votes to "present," allowing the legislation to clear the committee.
Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina, one of the Republicans who switched his vote, said during Sunday's hearing that he is "excited about the changes we've made"—prompting Democratic committee members to ask, "What changes?"
"Do not be fooled," Democratic Rep. Stacey Plaskett of the U.S. Virgin Islands said Sunday. "The 'no' votes from certain Republicans on Friday were because the cuts were not fast or deep enough. In the back room, Republicans agreed to deeper and especially faster cuts to programs."
WATCH: Republicans admit they made a backroom deal to change their budget bill — but they won't tell the American people.
One thing is clear: the only reason this vote passed tonight is because they’ve plotted behind closed doors to make their health care cuts even worse. pic.twitter.com/BWeEHlafMq
— House Budget Committee Democrats (@HouseBudgetDems) May 19, 2025
Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) wrote in a social media post after joining Norman in voting "present" that "after a great deal of work and engagement over the weekend," the legislation "now will move Medicaid work requirements forward and reduces the availability of future subsidies under the green new scam"—a reference to clean energy tax credits established by the Inflation Reduction Act.
Roy and other Republican hardliners are also reportedly pursuing changes that could force states to end their Medicaid expansions, which would strip coverage from millions and potentially kill tens of thousands of people per year.
In its current form, the Republican reconciliation bill would inflict the largest cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in U.S. history, slashing or eliminating benefits for millions by implementing strict work requirements and forcing many Medicaid recipients to pay more for coverage, among other changes—all while giving major tax breaks to the wealthy.
The legislation's Medicaid work requirements, which policy experts have condemned as cruel and ineffective, were slated to begin in 2029, but GOP hardliners want them to start immediately.
The changes sought by Roy, Norman, and other far-right Republicans must get through the House Rules Committee before the bill can reach the House floor. The GOP controls the panel, and both Roy and Norman are members.
Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, said following Sunday's vote that "Republicans have spent months lying about their plan to make the largest cuts to healthcare and food assistance in American history."
"Kicking 13.7 million people off their healthcare apparently wasn't enough for House Republicans," Boyle added. "The only reason this vote passed tonight is because they've plotted behind closed doors to hurt even more families while refusing to share this backroom deal with the American people. This fight isn't over, and we're going to make sure every American knows exactly how they've been betrayed by Donald Trump and the Republican Party."
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Republicans Caught Copy-Pasting Koch-Funded Group's Letter Demanding Medicaid Cuts
"You'd be hard pressed to find a more shameless example of congressional Republicans taking their cues from special interests at the cost of the American people than Chip Roy copying and pasting a letter directly from... special interests."
May 03, 2025
A letter that a group of 20 far-right House Republicans released earlier this week as part of a campaign in support of slashing Medicaid appears to have been authored by the head of a research institute with ties to the Koch network.
Politicoreported Friday that "digital metadata embedded in a PDF copy" of the letter that was circulated inside the House of Representatives "lists the author as Brian Blase, president of Paragon Health Institute."
InfluenceWatch notes that in 2021, Paragon received a nearly $2 million donation from Stand Together, "a right-libertarian funding organization that acts as the umbrella organization for the political network that is largely funded by right-leaning businessman and political donor Charles Koch."
Paragon recently urged federal policymakers to require states to conduct more frequent eligibility checks for Medicaid recipients in a purported effort to root out improper payments. Health policy advocates say such a change would make it more difficult for eligible enrollees to keep their Medicaid coverage.
The letter signed by Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and other House Republicans aligns with Paragon's objectives, claiming that "political abuse" of Medicaid "is helping to bankrupt the federal government" and calling for "structural Medicaid reform" in the party's forthcoming reconciliation package.
Tony Carrk, executive director of the watchdog group Accountable.US, said in a statement that "you'd be hard pressed to find a more shameless example of congressional Republicans taking their cues from special interests at the cost of the American people than Chip Roy copying and pasting a letter directly from... special interests."
"This remarkably blatant kowtowing to conservative billionaires is a sad reflection of the congressional Republicans' willingness to make devastating cuts to Americans' healthcare to pay for lower taxes for the richest," said Carrk.
The letter was released as congressional Republicans grappled internally with how and how much to cut Medicaid as they seek to offset the massive projected costs of another round of tax breaks for the rich.
Earlier this week, as Common Dreamsreported, Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said he would not accept more than $500 billion in cuts to Medicaid over the next decade. Cuts of that magnitude would still be the largest in the program's history and would strip health coverage from tens of millions of people.
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80+ Groups Urge Congress, Trump to Reconsider Sanctions on ICC
"It would be a terrible irony if a tool designed to penalize gross violators of human rights could instead contribute to their continued impunity."
Jan 06, 2025
Scores of advocacy groups on Monday published a joint open letter decrying proposed U.S. legislation targeting the International Criminal Court with sanctions in retaliation for the tribunal's recent issuance of arrest warrants for Israeli leaders accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
The Washington Working Group on the International Criminal Court published the letter—which has been signed by over 80 groups as of Monday afternoon—stressing that "the ICC performs a vital role in international affairs by investigating the worst international crimes that shock the collective conscience of humanity and investigating those accused of committing those crimes."
"The positive role of the ICC has been recognized through previous bipartisan support."
"It does so in a manner that protects the due process rights of the accused, the sovereignty of states, including the United States, and the rights of victims," the letter asserts. "As has been widely observed, supporting the work of the court is in the interest of the United States, and sanctioning it, conversely, undermines important U.S. interests."
"The positive role of the ICC has been recognized through previous bipartisan support for investigations into war crimes allegedly perpetrated by Russian officials in the Ukraine conflict... attempts to bring justice for the victims of gross human rights violations in Myanmar, and as a pathway to accountability for perpetrators of atrocities in Sudan," the letter adds.
On Friday far-right Congressmen Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Brian Mast (R-Fla.) introduced H.R. 23, the Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act, which would "impose sanctions with respect to the International Criminal Court engaged in any effort to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute any protected person of the United States and its allies."
The bill, which was fast-tracked by the 119th House rules package, was initially approved last June by the Republican-controlled lower chamber with the support of 42 Democratic lawmakers. However, the measure failed to pass the Democrat-controlled Senate. Republicans now control both houses of Congress.
"As human rights, legal, and faith-based organizations, the foundations of civil society, as well as individuals who have dedicated their careers to these causes, we decry attempts to attack an independent judicial institution and urge the 119th Congress and incoming administration to reconsider this misguided position," the letter's signers asserted.
Signatories include the ACLU, Al Haq, Amnesty International USA, Center for Constitutional Rights, Democracy for the Arab World Now, Human Rights Watch, Pax Christi USA, Peace Action, Physicians for Human Rights, and Veterans for Peace.
In November, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri.
Outgoing Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican President-elect Donald Trump have both condemned the ICC's effort to arrest Israeli leaders, although Biden has spoken out against H.R. 23.
Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.), Trump's pick for national security adviser, is a vocal supporter of Israel's 15-month assault on Gaza, which has left more than 165,000 Palestinians dead, wounded, or missing. Waltz, who supports the sanctions bill, threatened a "strong response" to the tribunal's warrants.
The United States—which provides Israel with tens of billions of dollars in
armed aid and diplomatic cover—has reportedly worked with Israel to thwart the ICC's effort to arrest Israeli leaders.
Neither Israel or the U.S. are signatories to the
Rome Statute, the treaty underpinning the ICC. However, Palestine is a party to the treaty, and nonsignatories can be held liable for crimes committed there.
The U.S. has a decadeslong history of antagonism toward the ICC. Under the American Service Members' Protection Act—Bush administration-era legislation also known as the Hague Invasion Act—the president is authorized to use "all means necessary and appropriate" including military intervention to secure the release of American or allied personnel held by or on behalf of the ICC.
In 2019, Trump revoked the U.S. visa of then-ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda for trying to investigate alleged war crimes committed by American forces in Afghanistan. The following year, the Trump administration sanctioned Bensouda and Phakiso Mochochoko, the court's prosecution jurisdiction division director at the time.
"At an historical moment when the global rule of law is under attack from multiple fronts, institutions like the International Criminal Court are needed more than ever to advance human rights protections and the universal goal of preventing future atrocities and advancing justice for victims," the new letter's signers argued.
"Instead, sanctions send a signal that could embolden authoritarian regimes and others with reason to fear accountability who seek to evade justice," the letter continues. "It is essential that the United States answer any allegation of wrongdoing in a manner that does not betray the cause of global justice, abandon international cooperation, or compromise support for human dignity and rights."
"It would be a terrible irony if a tool designed to penalize gross violators of human rights could instead contribute to their continued impunity," the letter concludes. "We urge other governments, members of Congress, and advocates for victims everywhere to raise their voices to oppose attacks on the independence and autonomy of international judicial institutions like the ICC. We invite allies of justice to join us in standing against these destructive measures."
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