Rep. David Valadao proves his empty vows to protect Medicaid were all lies | Opinion

At a height of 6-feet-4, Rep. David Valadao can cast a giant presence in Washington, D.C. Unfortunately, he doesn’t measure up when it comes to looking out for the best interests of his community.

That’s because on Thursday morning, the Republican representing a heavily Medicaid-dependent district in the Central Valley cast a vote in support of a “Big Beautiful Bill” that is expected to be signed by President Donald Trump on the Fourth of July.

Since January, the representative for the 22nd Congressional District has publicly stated he would not support any effort to reduce federal spending on Medicaid, of which 68% of district residents rely on for their healthcare. His first vow to protect his constituents on Medicaid came when the House GOP announced it was considering an $880 billion cut to Medicaid over 10 years.

As recently as last Saturday, Valadao stated his intent: “I’ve been clear from the start that I will not support a final reconciliation bill that makes harmful cuts to Medicaid, puts critical funding at risk, or threatens the stability of healthcare providers across CA-22,” Valadao, a dairy farmer whose district includes portions of Kern, Tulare and Kings counties, posted on his website.

The Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan agency, estimated that the Senate version of the bill, which was eventually passed, reduces federal Medicaid spending by $1 trillion over 10 years and increases the number of uninsured people by 11.8 million.

What happened to Valadao in five days to change his mind? For one thing, he visited the White House on Wednesday. His office didn’t provide details of that reunion, but Trump has used such meetings to pressure reluctant lawmakers to do his bidding over that of the people.

“I’ve been assured by the administration that it will be structured in a way that benefits our providers and keeps our hospitals and communities running,” Valadao said Thursday in a statement. “To be clear, I still have concerns with the implementation of the provider tax and state-directed payment provisions of H.R. 1, but I’ve worked and will continue to engage with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to identify specific risks to Valley hospitals and mitigate them.”

Up to 6,900 health care jobs would be lost in Valadao’s district if Medicaid spending is trimmed by $10-20 billion per year, according to the UC Berkeley Labor Center. Fresno County would lose between 3,700 and 7,300 jobs, the center said.

Math doesn’t math up

Valadao, Trump and fellow Republicans are using some kind of math that doesn’t match up with the reality of cuts reported by the CBO and health organizations.

“Ultimately, I voted for this bill because it does preserve the Medicaid program for its intended recipients – children, pregnant women, the disabled, and the elderly,” Valadao said in his Thursday statement.

This is the same federal lawmaker who said earlier this year that he believed Trump when the president told FOX news host Sean Hannity, “Medicare, Medicaid, none of that stuff is going to be touched. We won’t have to.”

The “Big Beautiful Bill,” to its credit, allocates $50 billion over five years to a rural health relief fund called the Rural Health Transformation Program. But that is mere peanuts when $1 trillion is being eliminated.

The Valley delegation split its votes on Thursday along partisan lines.

Rep. Vince Fong of Bakersfield, who represents the 20th Congressional District where 56% of residents rely on Medicaid, was proud of his yes vote. “I look forward to seeing the President sign this historic bill into law so that it can begin to revitalize the American Dream and bring lasting economic opportunity and prosperity to the Central Valley,” Fong said in a statement.

Democrats Jim Costa of Fresno and Adam Gray of Merced took an opposite approach.

“Republicans had six months to work with Democrats on a bipartisan, responsible budget,” said Costa, whose 21st District has 54% of its residents who rely on Medicaid. “Instead, they’ve chosen to put billionaires and big corporations first at the expense of the people of the San Joaquin Valley.”

Gray, a first-term representative, said, “This irresponsible legislation harms our most vulnerable veterans, single parents and children, while bending over backwards to give tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy – and adds trillions to our national debt to pay for it.”

Valadao, who represents a heavily Latino district, had no profile in courage on this bill. He chose Trump over the people he represents.

This story was originally published July 3, 2025 at 4:52 PM with the headline "Rep. David Valadao proves his empty vows to protect Medicaid were all lies | Opinion."