Report: Rep. Bacon Sets $500M Red Line on Medicaid Cuts

Moderate Republican Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska has informed the White House that he will not support more than $500 billion in Medicaid cuts to advance President Donald Trump’s domestic policy bill, Politico reported Tuesday.

The report of Bacon’s red line comes one day after a separate report that House leadership urged GOP lawmakers not to draw red lines in the battle over Medicaid cuts.

The House Committee on Energy and Commerce has been tasked with finding $880 billion in healthcare cuts between 2025 and 2034, though Chairman Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., has said not all of that would come from Medicaid.

Bacon’s vote is crucial; House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., can lose no more than three Republicans on a party-line vote, and Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., voted against a budget framework earlier this month.

Bacon was one of 12 House Republicans who signed a letter to Johnson this month asserting they would “not support a final reconciliation bill that includes any reduction in Medicaid coverage for vulnerable populations."

Another Republican, Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., chair of the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, also said this month he’s “not for cuts in Medicaid.” However, he’s gung-ho about going after the estimated 10% fraud or mismanagement associated with Medicaid and Medicare.

President Donald Trump has maintained that Medicaid benefits won’t be “touched,” save for waste, fraud and abuse.

"Now they're not going to cut social security. They're not going to cut Medicaid, they're just not. That's just fearmongering from the left,” White House top adviser Chris LaCivita said in February in response to a question about DOGE cutting entitlements.

In addition to Bacon, other Republican lawmakers, especially in battleground districts, have expressed concern about how much Medicaid will be slashed to pay for the reconciliation package. However, House leadership feels it can achieve Medicaid savings without making onerous cuts.