‘Big betrayal of a bill’: Ferguson, Jayapal blast Trump’s budget reconciliation law

(The Center Square) – Washington state leaders and others came out swinging Wednesday against the One Big Beautiful Bill Act President Donald Trump signed into law on July 4.

They characterized the sweeping budget reconciliation law as cruel legislation that will negatively impact the Evergreen State for years to come.

“This big betrayal of a bill … essentially guts our, you know, safety net here for many Washingtonians,” Gov. Bob Ferguson said at a press conference held in Seattle to speak out against the 870-page bill that would lower some taxes, change funding for various federal programs, raise the debt ceiling and modify many other parts of the federal government to be in alignment with the priorities of the Trump administration.

“Because that is really what this bill effectively does,” Ferguson continued. “So I want to be very clear about what this big betrayal of a bill will do. People in Washington state will go hungry because of this bill. They will lose access to health care because of this bill. Our lowest-income residents will be worse off as a result of this bill.”

Washington Republicans in Congress generally supported the One Big Beautiful Bill Act because it aligned with their focus on tax cuts, reduced government spending and deregulation. They see the bill as a path to economic recovery and restoring accountability.

Ferguson pointed out that about 28% of Washington’s budget comes from federal dollars, which he said is not unusual.

The governor said the bill’s cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, will disproportionately impact rural Washingtonians. Ferguson noted that about 74,000 people in Yakima County – more than a quarter of the population – rely on SNAP for food assistance. He went on to say that about one in four Washingtonians in Grays Harbor, Asotin and Adams counties use SNAP.

Ferguson said Apple Health, the state’s Medicaid program, will lose at least $3 billion per year over the next 10 years. That means, according to the governor, that at least 250,000 will lose Apple Health coverage, and another 150,000 will be priced out of the state’s health care exchange.

Abortion was a significant topic at the news conference.

“In this big betrayal of a bill … that bill intentionally targets Planned Parenthood and other similar health care providers that offer reproductive health care,” Ferguson pointed out. “It includes a one-year moratorium on Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood.”

Planned Parenthood in Washington receives at least $22 million a year, the governor said, with at least $11 million coming from Medicaid.

If necessary, Ferguson pledged that “Washington state will step up and backfill those dollars. That is critically important for us to do right now.”

U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., was also critical of the bill’s treatment of Planned Parenthood.

“Look, the Republican defunding of Planned Parenthood was very specific in the bill, the way the language was written,” she said. “There was only one organization that was targeted, and it was an attack not just on reproductive freedom; it was an attack on the millions of Americans who rely on these health centers for critical services, from cancer treatments to STI [sexually transmitted infection] screening.”

Jennifer Allen, CEO of Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, also spoke out against the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

“This is not the moment when the federal government should be coming in and interfering with our state’s values and with our patients’ access to badly needed health care,” she said.

Allen acknowledged the challenge before her.

“We are undaunted, but it does take money to provide care, and this is a hit on Planned Parenthood and on our state,” she said.

Both Washington leaders described the One Big Beautiful Bill Act as “cruel.”

“It is the most cruel piece of legislation that I have ever seen,” Jayapal said. “It is the most detrimental bill that I have ever seen in my time in Congress that will affect everyday people’s lives on every level.”

Ferguson said, “I’ve been in politics 20 years, right? I feel like I’ve seen a lot in 20 years. I mean, this is about as bad as it gets from a policy standpoint, from a budget standpoint. It is sometimes difficult to find the words. It really is, right? It really is sometimes difficult to find the words to communicate just how cruel and wrong something is.”