Trump Praises Project 2025 Lead As Health Care Cuts Loom
In Shutdown, Trump Praises Project 2025 Lead As Health Care Cuts Loom
As Democrats fight to restore affordable healthcare for millions, Trump continues his tyrannical spiral with Project 2025’s chief architect, Russell Vought, supporting efforts to dismantle the federal government. According to the Associated Press, the president announced plans to meet with Vought two days into the government shutdown to plot maximum carnage.
Despite hiding from Project 2025 during the campaign, Trump talked about the shutdown on social media and highlighted Vought’s role in creating the Christian nationalist wish list. He’s also bragged that the current shutdown is an opportunity for him to exploit the shock to the federal system, as the checks and balances we learned about in school continue to fail us all.
Vought, who now serves as the director of the Office of Management and Budget, has been key to Trump’s attacks on the system of agencies that underpin all aspects of American life. Back in February, Politico described Vought as wanting to “inflict trauma” on the federal workforce. While the dismantling of federal agencies was credited to Elon Musk and DOGE, it reflected Vought’s early influence on the administration.
Trump exploiting the current situation for personal and political gain is unsurprising and entirely in line with who he has always been. He threatened mass firings after claiming the “radical left Democrats” gave him an “unprecedented opportunity.” Despite his name-calling and insensitive jokes from the White House about the social media manager being furloughed, the stakes are high.
Democrats have hoped to appeal to the broader American public to force Congressional Republicans back to the table on healthcare and other important priorities. With 2026 open enrollment just weeks away, families and communities deserve better.
Republicans continue to wage war on America, while their leaders scapegoat undocumented immigrants and spread hyperpartisan propaganda. Meanwhile, families brace for increased healthcare costs amid worsening economic conditions.
Cost of healthcare remains a” top concern” for families, according to the Center for American Progress. A September 2025 article from the think tank indicated that Americans expect major increases in healthcare premiums. The Big Bad Bill, Trump’s pride and joy, is slated to end enhanced premium tax credits, which helped make healthcare more affordable for those getting their insurance through the ACA marketplace.
Those relying on employer insurance could experience their highest jump in premiums since the ACA was established. ACA beneficiaries will experience the largest increase since 2018, during the first year of the Trump administration. Not to mention, insurance provider Aetna announced earlier this year it was pulling out of the exchange, leaving millions to find new insurance.
The Center for American Progress further highlighted other policies under the Big Bad Bill that would increase uncompensated care costs. Estimates from the Urban Institute indicate that the “cuts” Republicans brag about could result in rural hospital revenue dropping by $87 billion over 10 years. Drastic funding gaps could also lead to more hospital closures.
Unsurprisingly, Black Americans are more likely to have public health insurance or be uninsured when compared to the broader population.
Black people have ample reason not to trust the federal government. But the guardrails put in place since the Civil Rights movement have offered some safeguards against worsening harms. Now, with the Trump administration’s battle against fairness and equity, Black communities across the country will be in danger of access to vital healthcare, among other concerns..
Despite his denials before the 2024 election, Project 2025 was always a central platform of a second Trump administration. And now Trump is actively consulting with Vought in large part due to his role in designing Project 2025.
Long before the 2024 election, health advocates and unions warned about the impact of Vought’s policies on public health. In July 2024, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees issued a statement highlighting the harms of Project 2025, particularly to public health.
“From eliminating the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to cutting Medicaid benefits, increasing Medicare Part D prescription drug prices and eliminating reproductive freedom nationwide, Donald Trump’s Project 2025 would have disastrous, deadly consequences on our country’s health care system,” read the statement.
Trump has also used the shutdown to escalate his targeting of Democratic controlled states and policy priorities.
As reported by the Guardian, Trump is living up to his promise of retribution and freezing $26 billion in funding for infrastructure and green energy projects. A federal judge swiftly blocked the Department of Homeland Security’s effort to cut counterterrorism funds for New York State by $187 million.
The administration is also plotting to use the shutdown to “lay off” large segments of the federal workforce. In past shutdowns, federal workers who were furloughed were recalled and provided back pay. As a former federal employee, this writer can attest to the anxiety and panic among rank-and-file workers. Now, given the unstable federal landscape, federal workers and their families bear the brunt of petty leadership.
And yet, all is not lost. Communities across the country continue to mobilize and demand that Congress take action. There are national mobilization calls, and healthcare workers are calling on Congress to restore healthcare funding and lower costs.
On Wednesday night, over 18,000 people joined a national call to discuss protecting healthcare. Groups are planning nationwide actions for Saturday, Oct. 4. In a statement, Maurice Mitchell, national director of Working Families Power, called on working people to hold elected officials accountable for fixing the looming healthcare crisis.
“Trump and Congressional Republicans have been shutting the government for months — working with Elon Musk to obliterate entire portions of our federal workforce, shutting down critical government services, withholding funding for lifesaving scientific and medical research, and putting our hospitals, schools, and economy at risk,” said Mitchell. “And now they are choosing to fully shut down the government instead of negotiating with Democrats and lowering health care costs for working-class families.”
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In Shutdown, Trump Praises Project 2025 Lead As Health Care Cuts Loom was originally published on newsone.com
