U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie joined the vast majority of House Republicans in voting in favor of President Trump’s multitrillion-dollar tax breaks package early Thursday morning, which now needs approval in the Senate in order to become law.
The bill, which passed by just one vote and garnered no support from Democrats, extends $4.5 trillion in tax cuts that Republicans first passed in 2017 during Trump’s first term and adds new tax cuts including eliminating taxes on tips, overtime pay and car loan interest.
In a statement, Mackenzie touted the bill and several of its key provisions, including making permanent the $2,000 child tax credit from Trump’s 2017 bill and increasing it by $500 temporarily through 2028; expanding tax deductions for small business owners; hiring more border patrol and ICE agents; and investing in military defense.
“This budget delivers real relief for seniors and working families, secures our border, and reins in reckless spending,” Mackenzie said in a written statement. “After years of wide-open borders, uncontrolled inflation, and government spending run amok, this budget finally addresses the needs of our community and our country. We’re delivering tax relief, boosting take-home pay, and improving the vitality and efficiency of critical programs. These are the commonsense solutions that people across the Greater СŷƵ are counting on.”
But the bill is facing criticism from Democrats and health care advocates, as it aims to make up for revenue lost to those tax cuts by slashing programs that help poor people afford food and medical care.
The proposal would save around $1 trillion in revenue over the next 10 years mostly by imposing work requirements on those receiving Medicaid, a health insurance program for low-income and disabled people, and SNAP, which helps low-income people afford food.
According to UnidosUS Action Fund, a Latino advocacy group that supports Democrats running for office and held an event in Allentown earlier this month criticizing the proposed cuts, around 85% of all Allentown children — 31,000 total — rely on at least one of those two programs. In a statement, UnidosUS President Janet Murguia called the proposed tax bill “cruel.”
“The ‘big, beautiful bill’ passed by the U.S. House of Representatives today is in fact an ugly, cruel and senseless piece of legislation that does absolutely nothing to help our economy or the millions of working families — including Latino families — who make up the vast majority of our country,” Murguia said.
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, around 8.6 million fewer people would have health care coverage and 3 million less would have access to SNAP under the proposed changes.
Rebukes also came locally, as two Democrats seeking to challenge Mackenzie in 2026 — the СŷƵ is considered a congressional battleground so Mackenzie will face a tough re-election challenge — also criticized the bill.
“While working families slept, Ryan Mackenzie voted for Trump’s billionaire tax breaks and backed a bill that will rip health care from nearly 24,000 people in our district, threaten SNAP for 25,000 more, and keep driving up prices at our expense. It’s a cruel betrayal,” said Carol Obando-Derstine, who is running for the Democratic nomination in the district, in a written statement.
“In the dead of night, Ryan Mackenzie cast the deciding vote to stab working families in the back — supporting the largest Medicaid cuts in history. Ripping away healthcare from millions of Americans, all so his billionaire buddies get another tax break,” said Lamont G. McClure, also running as a Democrat to challenge Mackenzie, in a statement.
Mackenzie’s press release called the cuts to Medicaid and SNAP “common sense reforms” which would include ending benefits for illegal immigrants and requiring able-bodied adults to work in order to be eligible for the benefits.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Reporter Lindsay Weber can be reached at Liweber@mcall.com.
