GOP attacks on Medicaid and veterans pile up nationwide

DOGE's goals are being supplemented by state and local Republicans

Welcome to a Wednesday edition of Progress Report.

Hello again from London, where it was too late for me to stay up and watch Donald Trump’s long diatribe, which also saved me the pain of observing most Congressional Democrats’ lazy and unserious response. There are plenty of political and economic problems in England right now, but it’s refreshing to be in a place that isn’t run by people who are trying to take it down from the inside and saturate the media with trash until every waking moment is spent thinking about these goons.

I do have to say that the more I look at photos and watch clips of the speech, the more that Democrats’ flaccid “protest” enrages me. They looked like a bunch of retirees bidding on a dinner cruise during a charity raffle at their senior living community clubhouse, not the people who were elected to provide a real opposition to the dictatorship that is quickly enveloping the country. These people are offensively lazy, obscenely entitled, and just not fit for any kind of responsibility beyond picking the catering at a country club.

More than ever, Democrats need to fear for their jobs, not because Republicans are coming for them, but because their own voters are fed up with their passivity and acquiescence to the endless attacks on working people, the rule of law, and basic decency.

One note for you: I’m lining up some great interviewees to kick off our live video interview series, which will start in mid-March. It’s going to be exciting — interviewing people is the best part of my job, and I’m looking forward to hosting conversations with people from all walks of life. It won’t be just politicians and pundits, that’s for sure.

Anyway, lots to talk about tonight, so let’s get to it.

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DOGE’s Attacks on Veterans Pile Up

The Trump administration has overseen the firing of more veterans in six weeks than any other presidential administration in history. Many of the more than 6,000 fired vets work for the VA, which the administration has targeted for more than 80,000 firings by year’s end.

To understand what even a handful of firings can mean, I spoke with Mark Wagstaff, a retired Marine who worked at a VA hospital for several years until he was fired in a DOGE purge last month.

I can’t stress enough how brave it was for Wagstaff to come forward like this — it essentially eliminates his chances of being re-hired by the VA and could alienate some of his fellow vets. Give it a watch so he didn’t do this in vain.

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It’s Always Election Season

And not just because I’m building a list of members of Congress and the Senate worth primarying (eyes on you, Rep. Adam Smith (WA-9) and Virginia Sen. Mark Warner).

Wisconsin Supreme Court: The first big election of 2025 is shaping up to be a blockbuster. When liberals flipped the court back in 2023, it signaled the beginning of the end of gerrymandered GOP dominance in the Badger State. Now, with a seat opening up in April, Elon Musk has pledged whatever resources necessary to win the election and tip the court back to conservatives.

He’s already poured in at least $5.2 million, accounting for more than a third of the $12.3 million that’s been spent on behalf of former Attorney General Brad Schimel. Allies have only spent around $2.3 million to back liberal candidate Susan Crawford, so the state Democratic Party just pledged $1 million on an ad campaign that will focus on… Elon Musk.

Nationalizing campaigns like these can be risky, but polling around the country shows serious disgust with Musk and his efforts to destroy the government. He’s now directly aligning himself with Schimel, so these ads aren’t the kind of stretch that you often see in campaigns.

To illustrate the importance of this race, just look at what happened after the court flipped in 2023. The state Supreme Court has gone on to make monumental decisions that include striking down the GOP gerrymanders put in place after Republicans swept the state in the 2010 Tea Party election, as well as reversing draconian laws such as the ban on collective bargaining by public sector union.

Georgia: Rep. Lucy McBath has formed an exploratory committee for next year’s gubernatorial election, which will permit her to raise money for a campaign before officially declaring. She’d be a leading contender for the Democratic nomination in a state that has gone purple at the national level but stayed in Republican hands on the state level.

A run, much less a victory, would be a major next step in an unlikely political career: McBath began to get involved in politics in 2012 after her son, Jordan Davis, was murdered at a Florida gas station. His killer was protected by the state’s horrid “Stand Your Ground” law.

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New Frontiers in New Mexico

Paid leave: Democrats in New Mexico have long wanted to make the leap into the league of states that provide for universal paid leave. Late last week, the state House advanced a bill that would finally make it happen.

Details:

Under the proposal, workers could take up to six weeks of paid time off from a family wellness fund for circumstances including caring for a loved one in need, dealing with a serious health condition and welcoming a foster child. Parental leave would be supported separately by a welcome child fund. That would offer 12 weeks of leave for a parent, during which their job would be legally protected. Families would receive $3,000 per month for three months after their child is born or adopted.

The family wellness fund would be financed by a small fee on both employers and employees at businesses with five or more employees. Employers would pay a 0.15% premium and employees would pay 0.20%, and together they equal a roughly $1 per week contribution.

Businesses testified against the bill in a very rowdy hearing last week, and the bill itself is a substitute from previous versions, as it takes some of the financial onus off of employers. Sponsors hope that the tweak will be enough to pass after four straight years of falling short.

Voting Rights: The legislature is also pushing to pass a constitutional amendment that would return voting rights to people who are currently incarcerated. The bill that would begin the constitutional amendment process passed through committee late last week, a fledgling step toward what would be a historic moment for the re-enfranchisement movement.

If you feel a bit conflicted about the proposal, here’s the argument that Democratic House Majority Leader Reena Scepanski made for it:

“When you have people in custody, they are completely subject to the control of the state, and so who is more important to have a voice in the leadership of the state than those who are completely at the state’s whim?” Scepanski said.

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The War on Medicaid

Back in 2023, I frequently wrote (and made a long reported video) about the Medicaid unwinding, the cold term they gave to the policy of throwing people off of the low-income health insurance program after the end of the Covid state of emergency.

Huge swaths of people were eliminated in both blue and red states, but Republican-run states stood out for their cruel rush to toss people aside as soon as possible, taking health care away from families because they didn’t respond to a postcard in time (that poor people move around more frequently and thus very possibly didn’t even receive the cards was irrelevant).

Today, the GOP war on Medicaid continues, not just through Congressional Republicans’ proposals to gut the program, but also in lower key moves being pursued by the snakes at the legislative level.

Idaho: Republican lawmakers are pursuing a “reform” that would repeal the voter-approved Medicaid expansion if the state fails to achieve 11 different policy demands. The catch? Ten out of 11 policies — each of which are designed to weaken Medicaid — require federal approval, which they are unlikely to receive.

The idea is to rig the system in order make Medicaid seem like a failed and untenable policy that the state just couldn’t make work. Around 54,000 people would lose insurance if the Medicaid expansion were to be repealed. It was passed with over 60% of the vote via ballot initiative in 2018.

Ohio: Gov. Mike DeWine has written a letter to HHS Secretary RFK Jr. requesting that the agency approve the implementation of work requirements for people who qualify for Medicaid under the expanded eligibility. The move could ostensibly cost more than 60,000 Ohioans their health insurance.

Work requirements have been proven to do little to expand employment among Medicaid enrollees, a vast majority whom either already have a job or are in the process of searching for one.

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Labor Gains, even in Trump’s economy

Hiring has slowed to a trickle and consumers are tightening up their pursestrings as tariffs and the impact of mass government firings and defundings begin to take hold, but that doesn’t mean workers can’t make a few advances, right?

California: In good news for service industry workers and people who believe in reality-based economics, a new study from UC Berkeley found that the new $20 minimum wage for fast food workers has produced enormous benefits with almost zero downside.

Our updated findings include: an estimated wage increase of 8 to 9 percent for workers covered by the policy; no spillovers to non-covered workers; no negative effects on fast-food employment; and price increases of about 1.5 percent— or about 6 cents on a four-dollar hamburger. The number of fast-food establishments grew faster in California than in the rest of the U.S.

The study also takes aim at industry-funded studies that claim that the new minimum wage has led to serious job loss and struggling restaurants. Thankfully, the Fast Food Council, comprised of state officials along with workers and industry representatives, seem to believe the Berkeley study, as it has proposed another bump, to $20.70 an hour, later this year.

San Diego: At the southernmost point of California, some local officials want to raise the minimum wage for the tourism and event industry to $25 an hour, a proposal that has won plaudits from organized labor but has a long list of opponents — including the San Diego Padres baseball team, which is projected to pay its players upwards of $200 million this season.

Colorado: Democrats in the legislature started coming to their senses and put a pause on a bill that would reduce the tipped minimum wage in Denver and cities where it’s higher than the state’s minimum. What the hell?

The bill has the support of Gov. Jared Polis, a pro-business libertarian type who also opposes a bill that would end the state’s absurd modified “right to work” law. The mayor of Denver, who once ran the city’s Chamber of Commerce, also supports the policy, but it’s opposed by most members of the city council there. The bill is still live, but will face serious opposition going forward.

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