WA officials blast Trump’s bill that governor says is ‘only beautiful to billionaires’

Washington’s elected officials reacted to Thursday’s passage of President Trump’s enormous tax and spending bill. The “big beautiful bill” will legislate trillions in tax breaks and corporate tax cuts while directing funding to the military, border security and the president’s mass deportation plans.

State officials raised concerns about the bill’s impact on local economies and Washingtonians’ access to SNAP food assistance, Medicaid and insurance.

The House passed the over-900-page act in a 218 to 214 vote on Thursday. Just two days ago, it narrowly passed the Senate in a 51-50 vote with Vice President J.D. Vance breaking a tie, but the bill is now on its way to the President’s desk where it will be signed into law on Independence Day.

What the governor had to say

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson issued a statement saying, “This bill takes food from our most vulnerable Washingtonians to give tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy. … This bill is only beautiful to billionaires.”

The legislation makes the President’s 2017 corporate tax cuts permanent, but Ferguson’s office focused criticism on new requirements which will bar SNAP access for thousands across the state.

“Approximately 1 million Washingtonians use SNAP benefits every month to purchase food. The reconciliation bill reduces SNAP benefits to the average household under the Thrifty Food Plan by about $56 per month,” the Governor’s office wrote. “It also decreases the maximum allotment per household. For example, the maximum allotment for a family of four would drop from $975 to $848.”

Ferguson’s office also noted that updated work requirements will make thousands of Washingtonian’s ineligible to receive food assistance, especially families and seniors.

“The bill also means more than 130,000 Washingtonians will need to meet new work requirements to keep their SNAP benefits,” the governor’s office wrote.

The act raises the age requirement to receive benefits without working to 64 while limiting some parents’ access to SNAP, depending on the age of their children. In addition to these changes, the bill requires youth exiting foster care to find work upon turning 18.

The governor’s office said these regulations will stunt economic activity in the state.

“The cuts will also likely ripple through the Washington economy,” Ferguson’s office wrote. “According to United States Department of Agriculture estimates, each dollar from the SNAP program produces more than $1.50 in economic activity at grocery stores, farmers markets and more.”

Another Ferguson statement railed against the devastating impacts on Washington’s clean economy, environment and energy future.

His office contends the bill passed out of Congress today puts at least $8.7 billion in Washington’s clean energy investments at risk. It phases out federal incentives for wind, solar and other clean technologies by 2028, but maintains and expands subsidies for fossil fuel industries.

“It’s a fossil fuel wish list that penalizes clean energy and favors pollution,” Governor Ferguson said. “Donald Trump and the MAGA Congress are dismantling the very incentives that have powered innovation, created jobs, lowered electricity costs and protected the environment. ... These rollbacks are a disastrous step in the wrong direction.”

The U.S. Climate Alliance estimates 21,800 Washingtonians will lose their jobs by 2030 due to the reconciliation bill’s reduction in clean energy and manufacturing tax credits.

What WA Congress members said

Calling the bill “the greatest scam in history,” U.S. Rep. Marilyn Strickland released a statement to her constituents in the 10th Congressional District, which represents most of Thurston County and north to Tacoma.

“President Trump and House Republicans continue to lie to the American people,” she said in the statement. “They promised to lower costs on ‘day one.’ Instead, they have championed the greatest scam in American history.

“Trump and House Republicans have stripped healthcare from 17 million Americans. They will have closed 1 in 4 nursing homes, shut down over 300 rural hospitals, and ripped food from the mouths of five million SNAP recipients — including children.

“It is clear now, more than ever before, that Trump and these spineless House Republicans do not care for the American people. They only care about themselves.”

U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, who represents most of southwest Washington as the 3rd District congresswoman, voiced her concerns about the bill’s impacts on health care and the struggling middle class in a Thursday statement.

“If you’re not very well off, this bill won’t give you a leg up — and if you’re not struggling to get by, your finances most likely won’t be turned upside down,” Gluesenkamp Perez wrote. “I think it’s a serious problem that Congress keeps focusing on policy that ignores the large middle of the country — who are the ones that will really foot the bill for our ballooning national debt.”

Gluesenkamp Perez also highlighted the bill’s impact on health care, as it cuts Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act coverage and access to insurance.

“This bill will strip healthcare from 17 million Americans, according to a nonpartisan analysis,” she wrote. “That’s more than twice the population of our state — and that’s 31,000 people in Southwest Washington who stand to lose healthcare, according to the Joint Economic Committee Minority.”

The Joint Economic Committee Minority publication estimates that 10,000 residents of Washington’s 3rd District will lose coverage under the Affordable Care Act while 21,654 residents will lose Medicaid coverage.

Gluesenkamp Perez also highlighted the effects of rural healthcare cuts, which will make healthcare less accessible for low-income Americans and rural populations.

“Rural hospitals across our district are expected to lose tens of millions of dollars, which could put these lifelines at risk of collapse. This doesn’t only affect those on Medicaid — when rural hospitals suffer, the health of rural communities like mine suffer,” she wrote.

The “big beautiful bill” includes over $50 billion dollars in Medicaid cuts, meaning significant funding will go away for many of Washington’s rural hospitals.

U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell focused her wrath on the health care cuts.

“With the House green lighting President Trump’s goal of taking away health care access and food security for millions, many Americans are going to suffer, and every working family will see their costs go up,” she said in a statement issued on Thursday.

“This law is the largest cut to Medicaid in history, which will raise costs for everyone’s health insurance. Hospitals, local elected officials from both parties, and everyday Americans all begged Republicans to make changes, but they refused. They stuck to their cruel plan to kick 17 million Americans off of their health insurance and take SNAP benefits away from millions of families — all so that billionaires and corporations could get another tax cut.”

Gluesenkamp Perez criticized how a bill with this much impact was passed only by Republicans. Two Republicans — Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania — joined all Democrats in opposing the bill.

“It’s a shame this bill passed by the slimmest of margins, on a purely partisan vote,” she said. “I’ll be working to provide support as we face the impacts of this reckless legislation, as well as to build long-term economic power for small businesses and your family.”

This story was originally published July 3, 2025 at 5:01 PM with the headline "WA officials blast Trump’s bill that governor says is ‘only beautiful to billionaires’."