California Republicans say yes, Democrats say no to massive federal budget plan
The House Thursday narrowly approved a Republican budget blueprint aimed at triggering big spending and tax cuts, with all the state’s Democrats voting no and all but one of the state’s GOP members voting yes.
Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford, did not vote, saying he could not be present because of a personal family matter.
Valadao is one of the state’s most vulnerable Republicans. His Central Valley district constituents are heavily reliant on Medi-Cal, the federal-state health care program, that could face cutbacks because of the budget legislation.
The vote for the budget Thursday was 216 to 214. Two Republicans, Kentucky’s Thomas Massie and Indiana’s Victoria Spartz, voted no.
In an interview with The Bee Wednesday, Valadao had said he was undecided and had been discussing his concerns with Republican leaders.
One of those concerns, he said, was how the House bill had included more in spending cuts than the Senate version. But House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said before the vote that they had agreed on $1.5 trillion in cuts over 10 years.
The measure passed on Thursday sets up what’s to come. It’s an outline of how much lawmakers want to spend and tax. The next step is expected to be legislation that includes tax cuts. Most of the 2017 tax cuts passed during the first Trump administration will expire after this year, but Republicans want to extend them.
Because of the outline passed Thursday, that measure will be able to pass the Senate with 51 votes.
That’s crucial to Republican success, since normally it takes 60 votes to limit debate in the Senate. Republicans control 53 seats.
To help pay for the tax cuts, Republicans want big spending cuts, and Medicaid, called Medi-Cal in California, is a big target.
Valadao was a yes on the budget plan in another vote in February. He said after Thursday’s vote that thanks to the bill’s passage, Congress can now start writing legislation focusing on specific items such as ”reauthorizing tax policies to help drive down costs for Central Valley families, while protecting essential programs like Medicaid. “
“My stance stays the same,” he said. “I’ll only support a final (budget) bill that strengthens Medicaid, SNAP, and other critical programs that our Valley families rely on. “
Valadao and Medi-Cal
The California Health Care Foundation, an independent nonprofit group that studies health issues, says that two-thirds of the people in Valadao’s district get aid from Medi-Cal.
Valadao is in a congressional district that has long been a battleground. He first won his House seat in 2012, then lost it in 2018 as Democrats gained seats around the country in the middle of President Donald Trump’s first term.
Valadao won back his seat in 2020, and in 2024 won by 7 percentage points.
The majority Latino district includes most of Kings County and slices of Tulare and Kern counties.
When the 2025 budget outline first came up for a vote last month, Valadao was widely criticized by political opponents for OK’ing a bill that called for $880 billion in cuts by the House Energy and Commerce Committee – cuts that seemed only achievable by cutting Medi-Cal.
Before the vote, Valadao and seven other Republicans sent a letter to House leaders expressing concerns about Medicaid cuts. Medi-Cal is California’s Medicaid program.
“Slashing Medicaid would have serious consequences, particularly in rural and predominantly Hispanic communities where hospitals and nursing homes are already struggling to keep their doors open,” the letter said.
Trump has said the program will not face big cuts, and Valadao agreed.
“I’ve talked to enough senators and I’ve talked to enough folks in the administration that I have a pretty good belief” that constituents will not be severely affected by any changes. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t meaningful reforms to be considered.
“Are there people who should not be in the system? Yes,” he said. “That’s an issue I think most people would agree with.”
It’s also worth studying how to slow the system’s growth, by encouraging alternative ways of obtaining health coverage, he said.
This story was originally published April 10, 2025 at 1:32 PM with the headline "California Republicans say yes, Democrats say no to massive federal budget plan."
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