California’s Members of Congress Vote Along Party Lines on House Budget Bill

California’s congressional delegation split along party lines early Thursday morning, as the U.S. House of Representatives passed a sweeping budget plan on a narrow 215–214 vote.

The One Big Beautiful Act contains much of President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda, including an extension of the 2017 tax cuts, which are partially offset by cuts to health care, food assistance and clean energy programs. Key pieces of the bill will have an outsized impact on California — such as cuts to Medicaid and the expansion of the state and local tax deduction — and will likely feature prominently in next year’s midterm congressional campaigns.

California is home to a dozen congressional districts deemed “competitive” by the Cook Political Report — more than any other state — putting a microscope on the vote of many swing-district members. In the end, all 43 California Democrats in the House voted against the bill, while the state’s nine Republican representatives voted in support. The legislation now heads to the U.S. Senate, where it can pass with a simple majority vote under budget reconciliation rules.

Republicans in California touted the bill’s extension of income tax cuts that are set to expire at the end of the year, in addition to new tax breaks on tips and overtime, and increased funding for border security.

“By this time next year, Americans could be experiencing one of the most explosive periods of growth in our history,” Rep. Tom McClintock, a Republican from the Sierra foothills, said early Thursday on the House floor. “All of that means secure borders, safer communities, lower taxes, abundant energy, more and better jobs, a higher standard of living and a better quality of life.”

Democrats focused much of their criticism on the bill’s cuts to Medicaid, which provides healthcare coverage for Americans with low incomes and disabilities, as well as covering nursing home costs. Los Angeles Democratic Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove called the legislation a “backstabbing billionaire bill” during the House debate.

“My constituents call my office asking me to protect their Medicaid,” she said. “They don’t ask that their life-saving benefits be taken away and given to the 1%.”

The largest cuts to Medicaid spending, known as Medi-Cal in California, will come through the implementation of new requirements that adults ages 19–64 document 80 hours of monthly work, volunteering or education in order to receive health care coverage. People with disabilities, pregnant women and caregivers will be exempted from the requirements.

The Center on Budget on Policy Priorities estimated that the new documentation requirements could lead to health care coverage loss for between 2.2 million and 3.4 million Californians, depending on how strictly the state implements the law.

Their study found that “much of the coverage loss due to work requirements would occur among people who work or should qualify for an exemption but nevertheless would lose coverage due to red tape.”

Another provision of the bill would punish California more directly by reducing federal payments to states that allow undocumented residents to enroll in Medicaid or have expanded health coverage to children and pregnant women who have green cards. California has expanded Medi-Cal coverage eligibility to all residents, regardless of immigration status, and does so with state funds. The Center on Budget on Policy Priorities found the penalty could cost California $27 billion between 2028 and 2034.

“Our constituents lose, our hospitals and our clinics close, our veterans’ communities lose — this is a bad bill,” said Rep. Mike Thompson, a Democrat from Napa.

The cuts to Medi-Cal could be a particularly vulnerable issue for Republicans in California. A KQED analysis found that the congressional districts that moved the most toward President Trump in last year’s election also rely disproportionately on Medi-Cal.

While the health care cuts will have an outsized impact in working-class political battlegrounds, including many communities in the Central Valley, the GOP will likely tout a provision of the budget bill that expands the state and local tax (SALT) deduction limit — a boon to residents in competitive suburban districts.

The SALT deduction allows taxpayers to subtract what they owe in state and local taxes, such as property taxes, from their federal tax bill. The legislation passed by the House raises the limit on that deduction from $10,000 to $40,000. In 2022, 15% of California taxpayers utilized the SALT deduction, the second-highest share of any state, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center.

“Increasing the SALT cap means bringing vital tax relief for hardworking, middle-class families I represent who face double taxation,” Orange County Republican Rep. Young Kim wrote on the social media platform X on Wednesday.