aacj

February 27 2025

Medicaid funding cut debate ‘for’; Medicaid funding cut debate ‘against’; Agencies to leave D.C.; Trump debates Mexico strikes; Taiwan holds Chinese crew

Greg Loving

27 Feb 2025 • 4 min read

The GOP Budget Shaves Medicaid Funding by $880B I: For Medicaid Reform

The GOP Budget Shaves Medicaid Funding by $880B II: Against Medicaid Reform

Trump Pushes Federal Agencies to Relocate from D.C. by Mid-April

Trump Team Split on Military Strikes vs. Cooperation with Mexico

Taiwan Detains Chinese Crew After Undersea Cable Cut

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1. The GOP Budget Shaves Medicaid Funding by $880B I: For Medicaid Reform

Republicans in Congress are pushing to reform Medicaid, a program they argue has ballooned beyond its original mission of aiding the poor and vulnerable into an unwieldy entitlement for able-bodied adults. Federal spending on Medicaid has surged 207% since 2008, outpacing even Social Security and Medicare, with states like New York and California raking in billions by gaming the system through hospital taxes and waivers for non-medical perks like art lessons and air conditioners. The GOP’s plan to trim $880 billion from projected growth—still allowing a $1.5 trillion increase over the next decade—aims to rein in this excess while preserving care for the needy. Advocates say block grants and spending caps would restore fiscal sanity and give states flexibility, ensuring taxpayer dollars prioritize the sick and elderly over wasteful handouts.
Citizen Journal

2. The GOP Budget Shaves Medicaid Funding by $880B II: Against Medicaid Reform

Democrats and critics warn that Republican efforts to slash Medicaid’s growth threaten a lifeline for millions, including poor children, pregnant women, and the disabled, who rely on the program for basic healthcare. Despite claims of “no cuts,” shaving $880 billion from projected spending could force states to ration care, especially as costs rise naturally with an aging population and medical inflation. Opponents highlight that Medicaid’s expansion has brought coverage to working-class families hit hard by economic shifts, not just freeloaders, and that reforms like block grants could leave states strapped, unable to adapt to crises like pandemics or recessions. With cancer patients and the elderly already struggling for timely care, they argue, tightening the screws risks breaking a system that’s stretched thin but still essential.
Citizen Journal

3. Trump Pushes Federal Agencies to Relocate from D.C. by Mid-April

The Trump administration is giving federal agencies until mid-April to suggest relocations of bureaus and offices out of the D.C. region, a move that would have widespread impacts on the local economy. In a guidance issued Wednesday to the heads of all executive departments and agencies, the directors of the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management laid out steps for compliance with President Donald Trump’s order to eliminate “waste, bloat and insularity” in the government. Part of that is a directive to submit “any proposed relocations of agency bureaus and offices from Washington, D.C. and the National Capital Region to less-costly parts of the country” by April 14.
Washington Post

4. Trump Team Split on Military Strikes vs. Cooperation with Mexico

Inside the White House, Trump officials are embroiled in a debate over whether to carry out military strikes against Mexican drug cartels or instead to collaborate with Mexican authorities to jointly dismantle criminal organizations. On one side, several people familiar with the matter say, some U.S. officials are advocating for unilateral military action against cartel figures and infrastructure to stem the flow of drugs across the border. On the other side, those people say, some officials are arguing for increased partnership with the Mexican government to ensure, among other things, continued cooperation on the issue of migration. Amid this split, a high-level delegation from Mexico is set to arrive in Washington on Thursday to meet with senior U.S. officials to hammer out a security agreement, a draft of which was crafted last week and will likely anchor the talks.
NYT

5. Taiwan Detains Chinese Crew After Undersea Cable Cut

Taiwan detained a cargo ship and its eight Chinese crew members after an undersea fiber-optic cable was severed, in a stepped-up effort to police such incidents, which are often seen as part of China’s pressure campaign targeting the self-ruled island. Taiwan’s coast guard said the incident was being handled as a national security matter and that deliberate sabotage hadn’t been ruled out. A string of such episodes has called attention to Taiwan’s vulnerability as it works to ensure that it has secure internet services to keep the island online in the event of an invasion or blockade by China. Similar incidents elsewhere, including the cutting of data cables beneath the Baltic Sea, have brought global attention to security concerns surrounding the critical infrastructure.
WSJ

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