Politics

“As the Trump administration has hacked away at the Department of Health and Human Services these past few weeks, most of the attention has focused on the cuts applied to high-profile agencies like the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"If congressional Republicans go through with some of the deep Medicaid cuts they are considering, three states would be left in an especially tight bind.

“The layoffs at the Department of Health and Human Services slashed the staffs of major federal aging, disability and anti-poverty programs, leaving the future of those programs uncertain.

“PLEASANTVILLE, Iowa — Zach Mecham has heard politicians demand that Medicaid recipients work or lose their benefits. He also has run into a jumble of Medicaid rules that effectively prevent many people with disabilities from holding full-time jobs.

“Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign to swiftly bar the use of food stamps to buy soda is fueling tensions between his team and the Agriculture Department, according to four people inside and outside government familiar with the dynamics.

“Democrats have long looked to the government to support their families through public programs and spending. Increasingly, Republicans want the same.

“President Trump’s efforts to shutter the U.S. Department of Education are in full swing.

“LOUISVILLE, Ky. — House Bill 695 passed the Senate Friday night in the eleventh hour. The bill includes changes to Kentucky’s Medicaid program and adds a work requirement to the program.

“VINTON, La. — In House Speaker Mike Johnson’s backyard, many residents rely on anti-poverty programs to help make ends meet — and are pleading with Johnson, R-La., to protect those benefits as Congress weighs steep federal spending cuts.