Trump allies sound the alarm as Congress weighs billions in new health care spending with deadline looming
- Trump has promised to shake up the health care sector and government in general
- Allies say it cannot be ‘business as usual’ in the meantime
MAGA fighters have sounded the alarm about Congress’ plans to pass a massive round of health care spending before Donald Trump takes office.
The year-end spending bill would reportedly reauthorize a slew of health care programs and add regulations for pharmacy benefit managers.
But as Trump builds an administration that aims to overturn the status quo, allies are warning House Speaker Mike Johnson against anything that would undermine their efforts to reform the industry.
Rogan O’Handley, who posts as DC Draino, an influential right-wing account, wrote: ‘Hey @SpeakerJohnson. Have you seen this? Ask for 77 million Trump voters!”
Trump has signaled his intention to shake up healthcare by environmental lawyer and vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in the portfolio.
At the same time, the government’s new Department of Efficiency is believed to be planning to cut trillions in Medicare and Medicaid spending.
Still, a new round of health care spending is one of the bargaining chips as Congress tries to find a compromise resolution that will keep the government funded past the Dec. 20 deadline and into March.
The result is a series of influential Trump voices from the world warning Johnson that it cannot be ‘business as usual’ until the newly elected president is sworn in.
Trump allies warn House Speaker Mike Johnson not to allow Congress to push through billions in new health care spending before president-elect takes office
MAGA World expressed outrage over reports suggesting new healthcare spending
“Why is Johnson considering giving Joe Biden a legislative victory or a Christmas present just before Trump takes over?” asked a Republican strategist.
“The speaker rightly said that Republicans would be better off waiting until President Trump is in office to influence any negotiations. What has changed?
“We must focus on giving President Trump a clear runway to make America healthy again and put an end to this business as usual, big government nonsense.”
Trump has not yet spoken on the issue.
But with pressure mounting, it signals a fight could ensue to keep the government open beyond the deadline at the end of the week.
Critics see the plans as a major victory for the Biden administration and Big Pharma.
The plans include expanding the rules to allow employers to cover telehealth for patients in certain plans, plus an additional five years to allow patients to receive hospital care at home.
Reporting by Politico said the text of the deal was not final and could still change.
Trump has promised that it will not be ‘business as usual’ in Washington DC
Sean Davis is co-founder of The Federalist, a conservative website
Yet the contents of the package are much broader and more expensive than many people expected at the start of the negotiations.
‘How much does this monstrosity cost? asked Joe Grogan, who chaired the Domestic Policy Council during Trump’s first administration.
“Trump was elected overwhelmingly to stop DC’s crazy business as usual, a swamp crapola that has bankrupted this country and screwed up health care so much that a bureaucrat in the Kremlin basement is blushing.”
Natalie Winters, a reporter for Steve Bannon’s War Room, made a direct call for Johnson to quit
“We voted to drain the swamp, not to increase the hegemony of big pharmaceutical companies and embolden lobbyists,” she wrote.
‘Help stop this.’