House GOP Budget Approval: What’s Next?

The Grand Ole Party of Republicans in the House of Representatives approved their budget on February 26. The bill is structured to ensure big tax breaks for the rich while steamrolling over the working class and those in poverty. In technical terms, the bill will provide a $4.5 trillion tax break and $2 trillion in spending cuts. The bill was passed with a 217-215 vote, with all Democrats and one Republican, Thomas Massie (KY), voting against the bill.

And while there haven’t been any specifications about what could get slashed, it seems the budget cuts could come from the programs designed to help the American people. More specifically, this bill would eliminate programs such as Medicaid, Medicare, and the SNAP benefits program.

Medicaid & Medicare:

The Medicaid and Medicare programs are specifically designed to help with the debt that the American healthcare system places upon citizens. Medicaid is for those who have limited income and resources, while Medicare is for citizens who are 65 years or older and/or have disabilities.

More than 66 million people in the United States receive health coverage through Medicare. While 72 million Americans are reliant upon Medicaid. So, any budget cuts that could diminish the resources split between these two medical programs would increase the number of people in hospitals and hinder millions of Americans from seeking health care when they really need it.

Suppose the $880 billion budget is slashed. In that case, this will continue to keep the American people locked out from affordable healthcare, while placing the bulk of the burden of care on emergency rooms.

If the GOP does cut funding from the healthcare programs, then people who have chronic illnesses and other health issues will be forced to pay higher fees to afford their health care. This potentially has the effect of skyrocketing capped prices of medications for Americans, forcing them to choose between paying for their medication or paying for their bills.

While this decision affects the patients, it also puts overwhelming pressure on the hospitals. They will have to deal with the emergency rooms being filled past capacity and forcing quick resolutions with no final solutions to any injuries or illnesses, among other potential kinks in the system. This consequently could only increase the already high mortality rates.

SNAP Benefits:

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is designated to help people who have a limited income purchase food. This program is designed for those between the ages of 18 and 52, and a system of rules is put in place to ensure that people are not taking advantage of this vital program.

With SNAP being on the chopping block of the GOP budget, this means that people without access to high-quality food would be forced to rely on fast food, which increases poor health, especially in youth, and increases the issues of child development.

Many South Dallas communities find themselves in the middle of food deserts. These families, for instance, those in South Oak Cliff, Dallas, do not have access to grocery stores, let alone foods of high nutritional value. Ending SNAP will place an enormous burden on parents living in low-income communities where poverty and its associated health conditions are already exacerbated due to socioeconomic inequality. So, if SNAP is cut, it will undoubtedly lead to increased disparities in areas like child development due to the lack of healthy food options in low-income communities as opposed to high-income communities.

Public Higher Education:

A new and shocking motif is the impending damage Elon Musk and DOGE are planning to do to the Department of Education. The Department of Education is a composite of all things related to public American education, from Pre-K all the way up to graduate programs. So, what does a potential budget cut mean for the school-age American public?

There will be an increase in inequality between schools in high-income and low-income communities, increased costs for higher education, and the possibility of unkempt and unchecked power for institutions conducting private education. Each of these scenarios results in wealthier Americans still being able to afford higher education and only mitigating the aspirations for higher education for those in lower-income communities.

Cutting the funding of the Department of Education leads to lower-income communities heading straight to prison via the school-to-prison pipeline while those of a wealthier economic status head straight to corporate positions. This would increase the gap in the Corporate America/ Fortune 500 companies environment and decrease all workplace diversity progress. 

President Trump delivered the first speech of his second term to Congress on March 4, 2025, even though he didn’t directly address the budget. His speech contained a myriad of lies ranging from his foreign policies, the ongoing tariff war between Mexico and Canada, the Russia- Ukraine war, and, of course, his infamous habit of trying to intimidate the Democrats and slandering the Biden- Harris administration. However, Trump and his GOP goons seem to believe that America is on the straight and narrow of becoming “whole” again despite nearly every economic metric pointing in the opposite direction.

Only time will tell what budgets are next to be cut and how the American people will suffer as a result.

And make no mistake, making people suffer is high on the list of Republican priorities.

Zahiyah Carter is a Gen Z writer based in Dallas. Her work focuses on topics that matter most to young people, from social issues and pop culture to technology and beyond.