A new report has shed light on the potential plans of President-elect Donald Trump's economic advisers and GOP allies in Congress to make substantial cuts to crucial social safety net programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). These proposed cuts aim to extend the 2017 tax cuts that mainly benefited the wealthy, despite the fact that these tax cuts are set to expire within the next year and would add a significant $4 trillion to the national debt. According to an anonymous report from The Washington Post, discussions are underway regarding cuts to Medicaid and SNAP that would affect around 70 million Americans with lower incomes. While nothing has been finalized yet, these discussions indicate a willingness among many in the GOP to trade off protections for lower-income individuals in order to ensure the continued enrichment of the richest Americans.

Trump's Stance During the Campaign

During his presidential campaign, Trump did not spend a great deal of time specifically addressing Medicaid or SNAP. However, in March, he did hint at the possibility of cuts. He stated, "There is a lot you can do in terms of entitlements — in terms of cutting — and in terms of also the theft and the bad management of entitlements." Despite his campaign aides' attempts to clarify that he was referring to cutting waste rather than entitlements, the new reporting from The Washington Post makes it clear that their assurances were false.

Forms of Potential Cuts

The proposed cuts to these programs could take the form of spending caps, which would limit the already meager amounts that many lower-income individuals receive from Medicaid and SNAP. Additionally, there is talk of establishing or increasing work requirements for program recipients. This idea of requiring higher levels of work to qualify for the programs directly comes from the playbook of Project 2025, a right-wing manifesto to which Trump had connections despite distancing himself from it during the campaign due to its unpopularity. The document also proposes placing lifetime caps on benefits, as analyzed by KFF.

Polling Results on the Programs

Recent polling on both Medicaid and SNAP shows that these programs are widely popular among Americans. In a KFF poll earlier this year, 86 percent of Medicaid enrollees and 71 percent of those not enrolled in the program said that Medicaid should "largely continue as it is today" without changes. Polling conducted last year on SNAP benefits found that instead of wanting cuts, 85 percent of Americans wanted the government to do more to assist people struggling to buy groceries, with 53 percent stating that the government should do "much more." These poll results clearly demonstrate the strong support among Americans for these social safety net programs and their opposition to significant changes or cuts.