With state primaries done, no more local primaries until August and Congress out of session, the dog days of summer are officially here—and so is another edition of our periodic community newsletter. 

As their last act before taking a vacation from the swamp, congressional Republicans dropped the Big Bad Bill, a $3.3 trillion debt bomb that will explode the number of uninsured Americans while shoveling tax breaks at the wealthiest. News on the potential consequences is raining fast and hard. Let’s dive into the coverage: 

What’s in the bill? 

The Truth About the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s Cuts to Medicaid and Medicare [Center for American Progress] 
Medicaid dollars make up most of the bill’s cuts—$1 trillion. However, the CBO also projects $490 billion in future cuts to Medicare as a result of this bill because its deficit increases will trigger automatic cuts under the PAYGO Act.

States scramble to shield hospitals from GOP Medicaid cuts [Stateline] 
Federal health care cuts will kick off a chain reaction of other cuts, flowing first to state budgets, then state-based health care programs and ultimately providers, with rural hospitals facing the most risks, including outright closure.

New tax law makes Planned Parenthood choose: Abortions or basic care [Washington Post] 
Health clinics that perform abortions will see their federal funding cut off for at least one year. This could affect nearly one-third of Planned Parenthood clinics, including in states where abortion is legal.

Budget Bill Massively Increases Funding for Immigration Detention [Brennan Center for Justice] 
The spending allocated in this bill, including $45 billion for building new detention centers and $14 million for deportations, now makes ICE the largest federal law enforcement agency (by budget).

How did this happen? 

How Republicans got Murkowski to yes on Trump’s megabill [Politico] 
Sen. Murkowski, by providing the deciding vote, holds considerable responsibility for this legislative monstrosity. Though she did win concessions—like money to shore up rural hospitals—they are not projected to outweigh the magnitude of the cuts.

Senate bill allowed to ‘defund’ Planned Parenthood [The Hill] 
The Senate Parliamentarian played a crucial role in getting this bill across the finish line, nixing several provisions but giving the OK to the Planned Parenthood provision this year—likely because of its reduced timeframe.

Hakeem Jeffries breaks the House record for longest floor speech [Politico] 
Party leaders are granted unlimited speaking time for comment on a bill, and US House Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries took advantage of this privilege, speaking for more than eight hours in an effort to stop this bill.

What can we do?

NC is in play in 2026. But look at what the GOP is up to. [Washington Post] 
Sen. Thom Tillis’s ‘No’ vote and subsequent retirement gives Democrats a chance to win this seat, especially if former Gov. Roy Cooper is our nominee. But unfortunately, state Republicans are now monkeying with the Board of Elections.

Dems plot to use Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” to oust GOP in 2026 [Axios] 
Democrats are already planning to center their 2026 messaging around this bill. Polling currently shows that a majority or near-majority of Americans view it unfavorably—especially the Medicaid cuts.

How Americans view the GOP’s budget and tax bill [Pew Research] 
Drilling down into the polling, nearly every aspect of the bill is underwater. Even work requirements for Medicaid recipients—the most popular provision—only draws 49 percent approval.

Planned Parenthood wins freeze on “defund” provision [Axios] 
A federal judge in Massachusetts has thankfully blocked the implementation of the bill’s family planning restrictions—for now.

PS—If you’d like to donate to Texas flood victims, gifts can be made through the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country.