Cortez Masto rallies Nevada lawmakers to push back on GOP cuts to Medicaid

Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto speaks during a campaign event in Las Vegas Friday, Jun 28, 2024. Photo by Wade Vandervort

CARSON CITY — Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto spoke to state legislators with a clear focus tonight: Federal cuts championed by President Donald Trump’s administration and congressional Republicans would gut Nevada.

The senator called for bipartisan cooperation among Nevada lawmakers as congressional Republicans steer towards a reconciliation process that would further shut out Democratic input. Her remarks were brief, with the 15-minute address ending in a standing ovation from lawmakers on the floor.

“I will always work with any administration on policy that is good for our families, and I’ll work with them to identify real fraud and abuse wherever it exists,” Cortez Masto told lawmakers. “But I’ll tell you what, I will not agree to dismantling critical federal programs to pay for tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.”

The U.S. House’s framework for enacting the president’s agenda calls for a committee that oversees Medicaid to find $880 billion in savings through 2034, raising Democrats’ concerns over major cuts to the program. The separate bill passed by the Senate, however, is more vague. Both houses are interested in developing their initial blueprints to further Trump’s tax cuts, but must approve the same exact version to invoke the reconciliation process.

It’s currently unclear exactly how the committee tasked with making the $880 billion in cuts plans to do it, with Republicans insisting Medicaid will not be affected, but also noting that they plan to eliminate misuse of the program.

“Nevadans are being told that these cuts are going to come from cracking down on waste, fraud and abuse of Medicaid,” Cortez Masto said. “And it would be great if that were true.”

Resistance to Medicaid cuts hasn’t been limited to Nevada’s congressional lawmakers, with Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo breaking with his party to urge Congress and the White House to not slash the program’s funding and state legislators hosting a meeting to understand the hole would be left by the cuts. Nevada Department of Health and Human Services estimated $880 billion in federal cuts could mean a nearly $1.9 billion loss for the state.

When asked if Cortez Masto’s calls for bipartisanship included working alongside Lombardo, the senator said she was “absolutely” open to hearing from anyone in the state as it pertains to the Medicaid program.

“It’s going to be important for us to know how they’re going to make those cuts and the impact in Nevada,” Cortez Masto said. “And so it will be important the information that comes back to the governor, to our state legislature, as they’re in the middle of the session.”

It’s not just the developing framework bill for Trump’s agenda that Democrats say they are being shut out of. Cortez Masto, in a news briefing, touched on the general lack of communication from Republicans in Washington. She said it’s a misconception that Democrats are taking a back seat because she feels the party is doing “an incredible job” of relaying to constituents the administration’s actions.

“We have to talk about it, because I will tell you, there’s nothing that this administration would prefer than to do it in the dark of night,” Cortez Masto added.

The senator has sent letters to officials including in the Department of Energy and the Department of Agriculture, but she said the lack of responses is “typical” of this administration. She said the letters document what Congress has passed and question the president’s authority, just like courts across the country are currently doing.

“I think it is important for Congress to continue its oversight role, to send those letters to highlight it, to demand answers,” Cortez Masto said. “Not only for the American public, but for the very people that he is firing, or for the very organizations and agencies that are entitled to the the funding that we allocated to them, and they’re not getting it.”

Part of the recent blowback Democrats have received included some members of the party, including Cortez Masto, voting for cloture on a continuing resolution constructed entirely by Republicans. If Senate Democrats and Republicans hadn’t found an agreement by 11:59 EST last Friday, the government would have shut down.

“We can’t take on a fight we’re not going to win,” Cortez Masto said. “And so part of this is ensuring that we are being smart about the challenges we take.”

Those “smart” fights could include matters related to the debt ceiling. The senator said the trillions in tax cuts she’s vying for would require raising the ceiling and identified that as a fight Democrats could jump into and hold some negotiating power in.

“That is another area where we can again take him on, highlight what he’s doing to our economy,” Cortez Masto said. “And the fact that he wants to add to the deficit and continue down this path of a downturn in the economy and potentially go into a recession.”