Democrats Despise Trump’s Signature Law — Except For The Billions Going To Their States
Democrats are welcoming investments in rural health care created by President Donald Trump’s landmark tax-and-spending cut law, after opposing the legislation for months.
The Trump administration announced state awards in late December for the first year of its $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program: a fund created by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to help offset GOP reforms toward Medicaid. Democratic governors largely welcomed the money allocated to their states, even as they criticized the budget law when it passed. (RELATED: Schumer’s plot to defund rural health care catches fire)
“Pennsylvania is home to some of our nation’s best hospitals and health care providers, but too often, people in rural communities struggle to access the high-quality care they deserve,” Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro wrote on X after federal officials announced a $193 million award in the Keystone State. “This plan will change that.”
Shapiro did not disclose that the funding was created by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which he had criticized during the period before the bill passed Congress.
“Knowing how harmful and unpopular this bill is, one has to ask: why are they rushing to do this? Shapiro said in June, referring to Republicans. “Why are they trying so hard to screw over so many people who voted for this president?”
No Democratic members of Congress supported passage of the budget bill, citing Republican Party reforms regarding Medicaid and food assistance programs. However, some Democrats have begun publicly supporting or claiming credit for popular provisions of the law, including no taxes on tips, modernizing air traffic control and funding security for this year’s FIFA World Cup.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he expects Democrats to also defend the rural health program, citing the fund’s expected boost to struggling health providers nationwide.
“I think you’ll see a lot of Democrats taking credit for the benefits that rural hospitals are going to get from this,” Thune told DCNF in an interview Monday. The majority leader highlighted a $189 allocation to his home state of South Dakota, which he described as a “gossend” for his state’s rural hospitals.
“This is a clear way to ensure that over the next five years, rural hospitals across the country will see a huge benefit,” Thune continued.
Each Democratic governor has requested a share of the law’s rural health fund, and federal officials have said the average amount awarded in each state for 2026 is $200 million.
The five-year program is designed to help rural hospitals stay afloat despite years of severe financial stress, although some states propose using their funding to improve health systems in rural communities more broadly.
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 6: U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) speaks during a press conference following a weekly Republican policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Shapiro is far from the only Democrat to express support for the rural health fund after criticizing the Republicans’ tax and spending cuts law.
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said his state’s $189 million allocation would “close the distance between rural communities and the care they deserve.” He argued that the budget law “empties health care funding” in a joint statement with Hawaii’s congressional delegation in July.
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, who wrote an opinion piece calling the “big, beautiful bill” a “great betrayal,” praised the $221 million reward doled out by the Trump administration. The first round of funding “will go a long way toward fundamentally changing the health care delivery system for rural communities across the state,” according to Kelly.
North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein also applauded his state’s $213 million award, which he said will “connect more people to better health care.” He previously denounced the budget law, calling it a “disgrace” and inflicting “devastating consequences” on North Carolinians.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore made no mention of the Republican budget bill in a statement touting a $168 million award.
Thune argued that the rural health fund will feature prominently in Republicans’ messaging against Democrats’ attacks on health care.
“Clearly, Democrats think they have a winner in attacking Republicans who want to get rid of waste and fraud in Medicaid,” Thune said, adding that Democrats still oppose reforming benefit programs. “But the truth is we are strengthening, improving and reforming many of these programs. »
Federal Medicaid spending is still expected to increase 7.9% in fiscal year 2026, according to KFF, a nonprofit health research organization.
Republican lawmakers also sharply criticized Democrats for seeking to repeal the rural health care fund during the record government shutdown in fall 2025. Democratic leaders’ alternative bill to fund the government would have reversed Republican Medicaid reforms and repealed the $50 billion program.
“Democrats constantly talk about access to health care. Yet when Republicans proposed this vital rural health care program, every Democrat voted against it,” Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, said Tuesday. “Then the Democrats shamefully tried to defund it.”
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