Democrats Lean On Messages About Medicaid Cuts

The NPR Politics Podcast

NPR

Politics, Daily News, News

4.5 • 24.9K Ratings

🗓️ 13 August 2025

⏱️ 13 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Democratic lawmakers have been spending Congress’ August recess talking about the Medicaid cuts in President Trump's newly passed tax and spending bill. We discuss whether their messaging strategy is likely to translate to votes in next year’s midterm elections, and how their tactics compare with those of Republicans.

This episode: political correspondent Sarah McCammon, political correspondent Barbara Sprunt, and national political correspondent Don Gonyea.

This podcast was produced by Casey Morell & Bria Suggs, and edited by Rachel Baye.

Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, it's Eric.
0:01.5	And Erica.
0:02.4	And we're currently laying out on the Zastars in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park.
0:08.3	His podcast was recorded at...
0:10.2	108 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, August 13th, 2025.
0:14.3	Things may have changed by the time you listen to it, but hopefully we'll still be enjoying our public lands.
0:19.9	Enjoy the show.
0:24.3	How cute is that Eric and Erica under the stars?
0:27.9	Very peaceful.
0:29.8	Hey there, it's the NPR Politics Podcast.
0:32.0	I'm Sarah McCammon. I cover politics.
0:33.9	I'm Barbara's friend. I cover Congress.
0:35.8	And I'm Don Gagne. I too cover politics.
0:38.9	And today on the show, while Congress is in its August recess, lawmakers,
0:42.9	lawmakers, have been talking about Medicaid. That's because the tax and spending bill that
0:49.4	Congress passed last month cuts the health care program, which many elderly, low income,
0:53.9	and disabled Americans rely on.
0:56.5	Don, you've spent some time at town halls in Michigan.
0:59.6	What are you hearing from the Democratic politicians at these events?
1:02.9	One of the reasons I'm particularly interested in the state of Michigan,
1:06.9	beyond the fact that it's, you know, a big swing state in elections, the Michigan Department
1:13.6	of Health and Human Services estimates that as many as 700,000 people in the state could
	...

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