House Republicans, with the backing of President Donald Trump, introduced a sweeping 389-page tax proposal this week that would deliver trillions in tax cuts to the ultra-wealthy and corporations while enacting the deepest cuts to Medicaid and nutrition aid in modern U.S. history. Civil society organizations and Democratic lawmakers swiftly condemned the measure, warning that the legislation represents a massive transfer of wealth to the top while endangering healthcare, food assistance, and nonprofit protections relied on by millions of Americans.
The bill—an extension and expansion of the Trump-era Tax Cuts and Jobs Act—includes provisions to permanently reduce taxes on top earners, further broaden the estate tax exemption, and entrench a lucrative tax break for offshore corporate profits. According to estimates, the proposal would cost more than $5 trillion and exacerbate the national debt, which has already ballooned to $36.2 trillion, or roughly 127% of U.S. GDP.
“This bill isn’t about balancing the budget—it’s about tax breaks for billionaires and kickbacks to corporate donors and billionaires, while silencing public voices,” said Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.).
House Budget Committee Ranking Member Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) drew a sharp contrast between the bill’s priorities and the needs of ordinary Americans. “Trump loves to call his budget the ‘big, beautiful bill,’” he said. “It is—for billionaires. While Trump’s billionaire donors get trillions in tax cuts, working Americans get the largest Medicaid cuts in American history.”
The legislation does not only revisit past tax breaks—it expands them. Business partnerships would receive an even larger passthrough deduction than they did under the 2017 law. The already generous deduction for offshore profits would be made permanent, allowing multinational corporations to continue shielding income abroad at far lower tax rates.
“I’ll tell you what’s coming: handouts for billionaires, healthcare cuts for the people,” warned Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.), ranking member of the House Ways and Means Committee.
To offset some of the staggering revenue loss, the bill slashes funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid. It imposes new work requirements and cost-sharing obligations on Medicaid recipients and introduces stringent eligibility checks that experts say could kick millions off the rolls.
“Families across the country are struggling now more than ever to get food on the table, visit the doctor, and afford lifesaving medication,” said ParentsTogether Action executive director Ailen Arreaza. “But instead of finding ways to offer some relief, Republicans in Congress are racing to pass a bill to hand massive new tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy.”
“Even worse? Their plan is to pay for it by ripping healthcare and nutrition aid away from millions,” Arreaza added. “One thing is clear: Gutting Medicaid and SNAP to fund tax breaks for the rich is cruelty disguised as policy—and parents across the country will take note of how their representatives vote this week as evidence of who they’re fighting for, their constituents or their wealthy donors.”
While the bill includes a temporary boost to the Child Tax Credit and raises the standard deduction, critics say those measures fall far short of addressing the inequities it creates. Millions of low-income families would receive no benefit from the expanded credit, and new provisions offering tax breaks for tips, car loans, and overtime are limited in scope and duration.
David Kass, executive director of Americans for Tax Fairness, described the proposal as a “clear scam.”
“The House GOP has revealed in broad daylight that their tax bill is a clear scam—one that hands out massive giveaways to their billionaire and corporate donors off the backs of their constituents with a price tag of over $5 trillion,” Kass said. “The plan’s massive cuts to vital programs like Medicaid and SNAP will drive up healthcare and food prices for millions of workers and families, while billionaires pocket the money and the national debt soars.”
In a move that has sparked additional alarm, Republicans also revived a controversial provision opponents have dubbed the “nonprofit killer bill.” Buried on page 380 of the legislation, the clause would grant the U.S. Treasury Department broad authority to revoke the tax-exempt status of nonprofits deemed to have provided “material support” for terrorism—without the due process protections that currently exist in law.
Advocacy groups argue the provision could be used to target organizations that oppose the administration’s policies, including environmental justice campaigns, human rights groups, and independent news outlets.
“The House is about to hand the Trump administration the ability to strip nonprofits of their 501(c)3 status without any reason or recourse. This is a five-alarm fire for nonprofits nationwide,” said Lia Holland, campaigns and communications director at Fight for the Future.
“This terribly thought-out legislation means that under the current administration, every environmental, racial justice, LGBTQ+, gender justice, immigration justice, and—particularly—any anti-genocide organization throughout the country may be on the chopping block,” Holland added.
Robert McCaw, government affairs director at the Council on American-Islamic Relations, also warned of the potential constitutional violations embedded in the proposal. “This provision is the latest in a growing wave of legislative attacks on constitutional rights,” McCaw said. CAIR called on the House Ways and Means Committee to reject the provision and support an amendment to strike it entirely.
The proposal’s potential to undermine political dissent comes as the Trump administration has already shown signs of intensifying crackdowns on opposition. “In the months since inauguration, Trump and his Cabinet have found other means of cracking down on political speech—particularly speech in favor of Palestinians—by deporting student activists and revoking hundreds of student visas,” journalist Noah Hurowitz reported. “But the nonprofit clause of the tax bill would give the president wider power to go after organizations that stand in his way.”
Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich framed the broader legislation succinctly: “Trickle-down economics on steroids.”
While a vote on the bill is expected in the coming days, its implications may resonate far beyond this legislative session. If enacted, the bill would reshape U.S. economic policy to serve an entrenched donor class while leaving working families with higher costs and fewer safety nets.
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