News + Press
News + Press
News + Press
WVDP: GOP Just Voted to Rip Food, Health Care, and Energy Jobs Away from West Virginians
July 3, 2025
Charleston, WV — The West Virginia Democratic Party is sounding the alarm after congressional Republicans passed a budget that slashes food assistance, health care, and energy investments — devastating working families while handing tax breaks to billionaires.
“This budget is Robin Hood in reverse,” said WVDP Chair Delegate Mike Pushkin. “Donald Trump and his Republican allies are robbing the poor to enrich the wealthy. Over half a million West Virginians — including kids, veterans, seniors, and people with disabilities — just got told they don’t matter.”
The budget cuts over $1 trillion from Medicaid — the largest cut in U.S. history — threatening health care for the 552,000 West Virginians enrolled in the program. That includes more than 1 in 2 children, nearly 3 in 5 West Virginians with disabilities, and a third of the entire state.
🔗 KFF: Medicaid in West Virginia
The bill also puts more than 307,000 West Virginians — including over 140,000 children — at risk of losing SNAP food assistance, a lifeline in one of the hungriest states in the country.
“The cruelty is the point,” said WVDP Vice Chair and civil rights attorney Teresa Toriseva. “They didn’t just cut programs — they went after hospitals, nursing homes, child nutrition, energy jobs, and maternal health care. It’s an assault on the people of West Virginia.”
Meanwhile, the wealthiest Americans will see an average tax cut of $79,000, paid for by slashing $1.3 trillion in health and food assistance.
The economic fallout won’t stop at the dinner table or doctor’s office — it hits West Virginia’s future, too:
Rural hospitals across the state are at risk of closure.
At least 1 in 4 nursing homes may shut down or lay off staff.
The bill endangers construction and energy jobs, with unions warning it may be the biggest job-killing bill in U.S. history.
The GOP budget also hikes household energy bills and guts energy investments.
West Virginians already pay among the highest electricity rates in the country, and this bill slashes funding that helps rural families weatherize homes, lower bills, and access energy-sector jobs. Nationwide, it puts 2 million energy jobs at risk and is expected to increase household energy costs by hundreds of dollars a year.
“Working families in McDowell, Marshall, and every other West Virginia county are paying the price so Republicans can cut taxes for billionaires,” Pushkin said. “It’s immoral — and voters will remember.”
Polling shows that opposition to the GOP budget grows 7-to-1 once Americans learn about the cuts — including among Republican voters. A majority of West Virginians support Medicaid and SNAP.
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