¶ Overview
- A central policy listed on Herrera’s platform was “Standing With President Trump.” Herrera, who supported Trump since 2016, would be another vote to move Trump’s price-hiking agenda forward. Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson were behind legislation that cut health care for 17 million Americans, including nearly 12 million Medicaid beneficiaries. More than 4.4 million people in Texas relied on Medicaid to obtain health insurance, and more than 41,000 Texans in the old 23rd congressional district were at risk of losing their health coverage because of Trump and Johnson’s Big Ugly Bill.
¶ Herrera Was Eager To Back Trump And Speaker Johnson’s Agenda, Which Included Cutting Health Care For 17 Million Americans
¶ “Standing With President Trump” Was Central To Herrera’s Platform
Herrera Proudly Endorsed President Trump And Listed “Standing With President Trump” As A Central Policy On His Issues Page. According to Brandon Herrera’s campaign website, “Standing with President Trump. Brandon proudly endorses Donald J. Trump for President and worked on his campaign in 2016.” [Brandon Herrera for Congress, Issues, Viewed 4/23/26]
¶ March 2026: Herrera Touted An Endorsement From Speaker Mike Johnson
3/19/26: Herrera Touted An Endorsement From Speaker Mike Johnson. According to Brandon Herrera’s Twitter, “Thank you Mr Speaker, I’m looking forward to working together to deliver the results we need here in #TX23 🔥🔥🔥” [Twitter, @TheAKGuy, 3/19/26]
¶ Trump and Johnson were responsible for ripping health care away from Millions Of americans
¶ Trump And Johnson Worked Together To Pass The Final Version Of Republicans’ Reconciliation Bill That Was Estimated To Result In At Least 17 Million Americans Losing Their Health Insurance
2025: Johnson And Trump Worked Together To Pass The “One Big Beautiful Bill.” According to Fox News, "House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., touted the close coordination between Congress and President Donald Trump to successfully pass the ‘one big, beautiful bill,’ saying the collaboration is part of the ‘beauty of unified government.’ Congress officially passed Trump’s multitrillion-dollar bill Thursday afternoon after back-to-back sleepless sessions for both the House and Senate. The massive agenda package now goes to Trump’s desk to be signed into law just in time for Republicans’ self-imposed Fourth of July deadline." [Fox News, 7/3/25]
- Trump And Johnson Lobbied The Republican Holdouts To Make Way For Passage Of The Bill. According to NBC News, "A bloc of Republican holdouts had initially opposed a procedural vote Wednesday to advance the bill, leading to an hourslong overnight standoff. But Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., managed to sway all but one of them, teeing up final passage in the House." [NBC News, 7/3/25]
HEADLINE: "At Least 17 Million Americans Would Lose Insurance Under Trump Plan" [Washington Post, 7/1/25]
- The Congressional Budget Office Estimated That 11.8 Million People Would Become Uninsured As A Result Of The Medicaid Cuts In Republicans’ Reconciliation Bill. According to the Washington Post, "The bill, which narrowly passed the Senate on Tuesday and now heads back to the House, would effectively accomplish what Republicans have long failed to do: unwind many of the key components of the ACA, President Barack Obama’s signature domestic achievement, which dramatically increased the number of Americans with access to health insurance. To start, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the Senate version of the bill would result in 11.8 million more uninsured in 2034, mostly because of Medicaid cuts, compared with 10.9 million if the House version became law." [Washington Post, 7/1/25]
¶ May 2025: Trump And Johnson Spearheaded The Effort To Pass Republicans’ Budget Bill, Which Would Kick Millions Of People Off Their Health Insurance
May 2025: Johnson Reached Agreements With Conservative And Moderate Republicans With Help From Donald Trump Before Passing The Sweeping Budget Bill. According to the Guardian, "The biggest obstacle the bill faces is disputes among Republicans themselves. In the days leading up to the vote, Johnson had to reach agreements with lawmakers representing Democratic-led states who demanded a bigger deduction for state and local taxes (Salt). He also had to woo moderates wary of cutting too deeply into safety net programs and rightwing lawmakers demanding more cost savings. The speaker appears to have bridged those divides, aided by a visit to the Capitol from Trump on Tuesday. Moderates backed down after some cuts were nixed, while lawmakers who held out over Salt won an enlarged tax break. Johnson also managed to corral most fiscal conservatives, but acknowledged: ‘There was a few moments over the last week when it looked like the thing might fall apart.’" [Guardian, 5/22/25]
- May 2025: The Passage Of The Budget Bill Was A “Triumphant Moment For Johnson,” Who Got The Bill Passed With A Singular Vote Margin. According to ABC News, "A smiling Speaker Mike Johnson announced the massive measure passed by a single vote -- 215-214 -- and was greeted with applause. He had struggled to get it done -- as he had promised -- by Memorial Day, before lawmakers go on recess. The sweeping package of tax cuts, Medicaid reform and immigration spending delivers on many of the president's domestic campaign promises. Following debate that stretched Wednesday through the entire night and into early Thursday morning, the vote was a triumphant moment for Johnson, who conquered sharp divisions among his conference ‘through a lot of prayer’ amid a historically low 3-vote majority." [ABC News, 5/22/25]
The House GOP Budget Bill Was Estimated To Increase The Uninsured Population By 8.6 Million By 2034. According to CNN, “The Medicaid and Affordable Care Act provisions in the package could result in 8.6 million more people being uninsured in 2034, according to an early CBO estimate released by Democratic lawmakers. That number is expected to grow with the latest changes.” [CNN, 5/28/25]
¶ February 2025: Johnson And Trump Pushed Forward A Budget Bill That Spelled Out Future Medicaid Cuts
Johnson “Fought On All Fronts” To Advance The Budget Bill That Passed “With A Push From President Donald Trump.” According to the Associated Press, "With a push from President Donald Trump, House Republicans sent a GOP budget blueprint to passage Tuesday, a step toward delivering his ‘big, beautiful bill’ with $4.5 trillion in tax breaks and $2 trillion in spending cuts despite a wall of opposition from Democrats and discomfort among Republicans. House Speaker Mike Johnson had almost no votes to spare in his bare-bones GOP majority and fought on all fronts — against Democrats, uneasy rank-and-file Republicans and skeptical GOP senators — to advance the party’s signature legislative package. Trump made calls to wayward GOP lawmakers and invited Republicans to the White House. The vote was 217-215, with a single Republican and all Democrats opposed, and the outcome was in jeopardy until the gavel." [Associated Press, 2/25/25]
- HEADLINE: “What Can House Republicans Cut Instead Of Medicaid? Not Much.” [New York Times, 2/25/25]
- HEADLINE: "House Republican Budget Takes Away Health Care, Food Aid To Pay For Expanded Tax Cuts For Wealthy" [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 2/21/25]
- New York Times Reported The $880 Billion In Cuts Required By The Republican Budget Proposal Would Have To Come From Medicaid, Medicare, Or CHIP. According to the New York Times, "The budget resolution itself is silent on whether Congress cuts Medicaid, which provides health coverage to 72 million poor and disabled Americans. But it instructs the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over the program, to cut spending by $880 billion over the next decade. If the committee can’t save at least that much, the entire effort could be imperiled because of the special process Congress is using to avoid a Senate filibuster. Ten other committees have their own instructions to follow, though none have been assigned with cutting nearly as much. It’s not so simple as finding the cuts elsewhere. The special process, known as budget reconciliation, means Republicans will have to find all $880 billion from within the Energy and Commerce Committee’s jurisdiction. That leaves them with fewer options than one might think. […] If Republicans want to avoid major cuts to Medicaid, the largest pot of available money is in the other big government health insurance program: Medicare. […] Even if the committee cuts everything that’s not health care to $0, it will still be more than $600 billion short. The committee could also save around $200 billion by eliminating the Children’s Health Insurance Program, but that option has not been raised by the budget committee or anyone in House leadership. […] Even if all of these cuts, revenues and rule cancellations from outside health care can pass muster, the committee will still be left with hundreds of billions of dollars to cut to hit its goal. Mathematically, the budget committee’s instructions mean the committee would need to make major cuts to either Medicare, Medicaid or both." [New York Times, 2/25/25]
¶ More than 41,000 people in The Old texas’s 23rd congressional district were at risk of losing health insurance because of the big beautiful bill
An Estimated 41,900 People In The Old TX-23 Congressional District Were At Risk Of Losing Health Insurance Because Of The Republican Reconciliation Bill.
[Joint Economic Committee, June 2025]
¶ Herrera Planned to Campaign on THE ISSUE OF rural hospital closures
2/17/26: Herrera Said He Planned To Campaign On “The Epidemic Of Rural Hospital Closures Across Southwest Texas And The Affordability Crisis Facing Too Many Of Our Working Families.” According to Texas Tribune, “The primary was upended as early voting began last week, when the San Antonio Express-News reported that Gonzales had an affair with an aide who later died after setting herself on fire. The story prompted a wave of other damning revelations about his relationship with the aide, Regina Santos-Aviles, and gave fresh momentum to his leading primary rival, Brandon Herrera, who already came close to unseating Gonzales in 2024. […] Herrera added that, if he emerges as the nominee, he would also campaign on issues such as 'the epidemic of rural hospital closures across Southwest Texas and the affordability crisis facing too many of our working families' - issues with notably broader crossover appeal than the partisan ones, like gun rights, that have defined his political brand so far.” [Texas Tribune, 2/17/26]
¶ Trump and Johnson’s Medicaid Cuts Put Rural Hospitals In Texas At Risk Of Closing
HEADLINE: "Texas Tops U.S. In Rural Hospital Closures; Staffing Costs And Cuts Squeeze Facilities" [CBS Austin, 5/6/26]
Terry Scoggin, Interim President Of The Texas Organization Of Rural And Community Hospitals, Said Cuts To Medicaid Would Result In “Net Less Dollars For Rural Hospitals.” According to NBC DFW, “On Monday morning, rural hospitals asked for a lifeline in Austin. Rising costs, patients moving to urban areas, and new federal budget cuts are threatening healthcare access in small towns. […] On Monday, Hawkins monitored a public comment session by the Health and Human Services Commission in Austin. The commission is reviewing a $50 billion federal fund created to soften the impact of projected Medicaid cuts. Congressional Republicans recently added work requirements to Medicaid—the federal and state insurance program for low-income Texans, children and people with disabilities. While the changes aim to reduce government spending, critics say the new rules could cause people to lose coverage. ‘These dollars that we’re talking about today are intended to lessen the impact, but let’s be clear: it will be net less dollars for rural hospitals,’ said Terry Scoggin, interim president of the Texas Organization of Rural and Community Hospitals.” [NBC DFW, 10/13/25]
The Texas Hospital Association Reported Between 147 And 156 Rural Hospitals Statewide Were Struggling To Survive Amid Rising Costs And Cuts To Medicaid, Medicare, And Affordable Care Act (ACA) Subsidies. According to Texas Public Radio, “Across the backroads and small towns of Texas, hospitals are on the verge of closing their doors. The Texas Hospital Association reports that between 147 and 156 rural hospitals statewide are struggling to survive amid a perfect storm of rising costs, shrinking reimbursements, and policy uncertainty. Advocates warn that cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, and Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies could tip many into permanent closure, leaving large swaths of rural Texas without emergency care.” [Texas Public Radio, 10/20/25]
HEADLINE: "Rural Hospitals Are Figuring Our [sic] How To Restructure After Medicaid Cuts" [NPR, 4/2/26]