Last Week This Morning: GOP tries to steal our healthcare

GOP tries to steal our healthcare. House Republicans passed a budget bill that would cut healthcare and food assistance for millions of Americans, all to pay for tax cuts for billionaires. The centerpiece of the bill is an extension of the 2017 Trump tax cuts, which is built to benefit the highest earners and hurt working-class people. In order to make room for this, the bill also contains extreme funding cuts of hundreds of billions of dollars to Medicaid and SNAP, as well as much stricter requirements, making it harder for struggling families to access food and healthcare. As if that was not damaging enough, the budget bill terminates several hundred billion dollars in tax credits for clean energy, funneling that money instead to ICE and CBP.

ICE abductions in Phoenix. Last week, ICE targeted families who arrived outside the Phoenix federal courthouse, arresting people after their scheduled immigration hearings – including a mother of a newborn child. As people exited the courthouse, believing their legal proceedings were concluded, they were met by ICE officers who conducted immediate arrests of multiple community members with no warning, no explanation, and no access to legal counsel. ICE, acting as modern-day Gestapo, wore masks to hide their identities as they stole community members, who were following typical legal proceedings, away from their families. Those with an immigration appointment are advised not to arrive without a lawyer or a trusted friend who has permanent legal status or is a U.S. citizen. Immigration advocates have also been present at the courthouse to bear witness and offer support to families arriving for hearings. To learn more about your rights, visit https://act.progressarizona.org/go/92928?t=5&akid=17527%2E80119%2ERnI0fF.

A little good news, as a treat. There have been multiple judicial blocks on Trump’s unconstitutional actions. A federal judge in Massachusetts blocked Trump from attempting to close the U.S. Department of Education through an executive order.. Another federal judge in Rhode Island also ruled in favor of a coalition of Democrat-led states, blocking the Trump administration from illegally slashing billions in federal funding for states to provide COVID-19 testing & vaccination, and addiction & mental health programs.