GOP opts for Medicaid compromise in battle between centrists and hardliners

House Republicans on Sunday night offered the first glimpse of their Medicaid overhaul plan, which is expected to cut billions of dollars to help finance President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax and spending cuts agenda.

House Republicans on Sunday night offered the first glimpse of their Medicaid overhaul plan, which is expected to cut billions of dollars to help finance President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax and spending cuts agenda. A preview of the plan, which House Energy and Commerce Chairman Brett Guthrie outlined in a Wall Street Journal op-ed Sunday, would impose major new rules designed to cut spending. That includes work requirements for adults who are physically “capable” of working, in Guthrie’s own description, and more frequent eligibility checks for those relying on the program, which provides health insurance to low-income Americans. But it does not appear to be the radical restructuring sought by many House GOP hardliners. Instead, it represents a compromise that the party’s more centrist members — and perhaps those across the Capitol in the Senate — may be more willing to support. Full legislative text of the plan — which is not yet final — is expected to be released later Sunday night, and the plan could see further changes before a key committee vote midweek. Still, it signals some of the biggest decisions made by House Speaker Mike Johnson and his leadership team so far as they work to strike a deal on Trump’s big domestic policy bill. It remains to be seen, however, whether the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee can meet its goal of cutting $880 billion over a decade in funding from programs in its jurisdiction — which will be critical to winning conservative support for the overall package.