Republican Senator Josh Hawley warned that President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful" tax cut and spending bill is facing a "nightmare scenario" as its chances of being passed in the House dwindle following larger-than-expected Medicaid cuts.
"It seems to me that now we're in a place where this provision is threatening the entire bill, and we just don't have time for that," Hawley, among the most vocal opponents to Medicaid cuts in the Republican party, told Axios on Friday.
"I just think the idea of having now to go to a conference committee with the House because they say, well, we can't pass this... I mean, good lord, that's just a nightmare scenario," he added.
President Donald Trump has said he wants the bill on his desk on July 4, but reports show that GOP leadership is growing increasingly worried about the possibility it won't be able to do it.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune has been criticized by fellow Republicans over the cuts. Hawley was not the only one to express his outrage. Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins also voiced their disagreement over not just the scale of the cuts, but the lack of communication from leadership. Hawley said earlier this week that the proposal "caught me by surprise" and warned that nearly half of Missouri's rural hospitals could shutter under the current plan.
Murkowski flagged the Medicaid work requirement provisions as unrealistic for states like Alaska, and Collins cited the threat to health care provider taxes as a potential blow to Maine's already struggling rural hospitals. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) also raised alarms over language that could undercut West Virginia's clean energy initiatives.
Meanwhile, Thune and Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) defended the bill, arguing that cuts are needed to offset the cost of permanent tax breaks and comply with budget rules.
GOP leadership is also facing challenges in the Upper House. As well as the three mentioned senators, Ron Johnson and Rand Paul have also criticized the bill for other reasons, claiming they currently won't support it.
Over 4 in 10 Americans oppose the bill as it stands. The scenario is illustrated by a Washington Post-Ipsos poll that surveyed 1,167 U.S. adults between June 6-10. Results have a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.
According to the survey, 42% of Americans oppose the budget bill "changing tax, spending and Medicaid policies," compared with 23% of Americans who support the bill and 34% who say they have no opinion.
Support for the sweeping bill remains deeply partisan, the poll suggests. 49% of Republicans say they support the bill compared to 13% who oppose, and 38% who say they have no opinion on it. Conversely, 74% of Democrats say they oppose the bill, with only 6% supporting it, and 19% having no opinion. Independents also oppose it 40% to 17%, while about 4 in 10 independents have no opinion on the bill.
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