¶ Overview
- Bouchard said he wanted to be Trump’s “ally” in congress. Trump was behind legislation that cut health care for 17 million Americans, including nearly 12 million Medicaid beneficiaries. As many as 200,000 Michiganders were at risk of losing their healthcare if the Medicaid cuts were enacted, including more than 35,000 Michiganders in the 10th Congressional district.
¶ Bouchard Said He Wanted To Be Trump’s Ally In Congress
¶ Bouchard Said He Was Seeking Trump’s Endorsement And Would Be His “Ally” In Congress
Bouchard: “I Want To Be His [Trump’s] Ally In Congress.” According to The Detroit News, “The Army veteran said he will seek Trump's endorsement after the GOP leader previously expressed concerns about his party losing the district without James. ‘I want to show (Trump) that I'm the right person to win this, and I am. But more than that, I want to be his ally in Congress,’ Bouchard said.” [Detroit News, 11/6/25]
¶ Bouchard Frequently Praised Trump And Members Of His Administration
3/18/26: Bouchard Welcomed Vice President J.D. Vance To Michigan And Praised Trump For “Putting American Workers First.” Michael Bouchard tweeted, “Great to welcome @JDVance back to Michigan and thank you for fighting for our workers. Actions speak louder than words and you continue to show up for us. President @realDonaldTrump is bringing manufacturing home and putting American workers first. MI-10 built this state with their hands, and they deserve a fighter in Washington. I’ve done it in uniform and I’ll do it in Congress.” [Twitter, @BouchardforMI, 3/18/26]
Bouchard Praised Trump’s State Of The Union Address And Said He “Can’t Wait” To Get Into Congress And Help Enact Trump’s Agenda. Michael Bouchard tweeted, “This was the greatest State of the Union I have seen. We are putting our country first, getting our economy moving, rebuilding American values, and making our country respected again. Thank you @realDonaldTrump , tonight helped America be proud once more. I can’t wait to come to Congress and help put your American first agenda into action. Let keep winning! 🇺🇸” [Twitter, @BouchardforMI, 2/25/26] (video)
Bouchard Thanked Trump For “Restoring Peace Through Strength, Rebuilding Our Military, Backing Law Enforcement, And Standing Up For American Workers.” Michael Bouchard tweeted, “On Presidents’ Day, we recognize strong leadership that puts America first. Thank you to President @realDonaldTrump for restoring peace through strength, rebuilding our military, backing law enforcement, and standing up for American workers. Real leadership projects strength, deters our enemies, and protects our future. @TeamTrump @WhiteHouse” [Twitter, @BouchardforMI, 2/16/26]
¶ Bouchard Was Eager To Back Trump’s Agenda, Which Included Cutting Health Care For Michiganders
¶ Bouchard Said He Would Be Trump's “Ally” In Congress And Praised The Republican Reconciliation Bill
Bouchard: “I Want To Be His [Trump’s] Ally In Congress.” According to The Detroit News, “The Army veteran said he will seek Trump's endorsement after the GOP leader previously expressed concerns about his party losing the district without James. ‘I want to show (Trump) that I'm the right person to win this, and I am. But more than that, I want to be his ally in Congress,’ Bouchard said.” [Detroit News, 11/6/25]
8/10/26: Bouchard Claimed The Republican Budget Bill Lowered Costs And Delivered “Solutions” That Helped American Families. According to Michael Bouchard Jr. on Just the News: No Noise, “HOST: And so very important. All right, when you're out on the trail and people are looking at what the Republicans have gotten done, there's a manufacturing renaissance in the middle of America ongoing. People have 3 to $4,000 more disposable income because of the Big, Beautiful Bill. What are the things that are resonating? And then what are the unfinished business that voters say, oh I hope you get that done soon? BOUCHARD: Yeah. Well, so one, voters want to know that we're going to continue to lower costs. Right. So, no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, the child tax credit, these are all great but we need to keep going. We need to keep delivering solutions to make sure that the hardworking families in my district and all across the country have more money in their pockets, but also that they have the ability to live the lives that they want.” [Michael Bouchard Jr., Just the News: No Noise, 8/10/26] (video)
8/5/26: Bouchard Claimed The Republican Reconciliation Bill Was “Driving Costs Down” And Touted The Bill’s Permanent Extension Of Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts. According to Michael Bouchard Jr. on All Talk With Kevin Dietz, “HOST: What are the biggest issues facing families in Macomb and Oakland counties today? What are you hearing on the campaign trail? BOUCHARD: You know, costs are high right now and they want someone who's going to be able to deliver results. And I think what we're seeing with the no tax on taps, no tax on overtime, what we're seeing with the child tax credit. A lot of these are driving taxes or driving costs down over time. And they also, we also just passed a bill to make individual tax rate cuts permanent. So that is a way to take this forward.” [Michael Bouchard Jr., All Talk With Kevin Dietz, 8/5/26] (audio)
¶ Trump Was Responsible For Ripping Health Care Away From Millions Of Americans
¶ Trump Worked 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: Trump Worked 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 House Speaker Mike 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 Spearheaded The Effort To Pass Republicans’ Budget Bill, Which Would Kick Millions Of People Off Medicaid
May 2025: Trump Helped House Speaker Mike Johnson Reach Agreements With Conservative And Moderate Republicans 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]
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: Trump Pushed Forward A Budget Bill That Spelled Out Future Medicaid Cuts
The Republican Budget Bill Passed Thanks To 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 35,000 Michiganders In Mi-10 Could Lose Health Coverage As A Result Of The Republican Budget Bill
An Estimated 35,318 People In Michigan’s 10th Congressional District On The Affordable Care Act And Medicaid Were Set To Lose Coverage Due To Republican Budget Bill Health Care Cuts. According to the Joint Economic Committee,
[Joint Economic Committee, Viewed 4/7/26]
2023: 182,900 Michiganders In The 10th Congressional District Were Enrolled In Medicaid Or CHIP. According to the Center for American Progress,
[Center for American Progress, 3/11/25]
¶ Approximately 2.6 Million Michiganders Got Their Health Insurance Through Medicaid And As Many As 200,000 Could Lose Their Coverage As A Result Of The Republican Budget Bill
An Estimated 2.6 Million Michiganders Accessed Health Insurance Through Medicaid. According to Planet Detroit, “More than 2.6 million Michiganders access health insurance through Medicaid, according to the state. That’s roughly a quarter of Michigan residents. ‘People are going to get sicker. They’re going to end up in situations where these chronic conditions are out of control, and costing the health system more than if Medicaid was still around,’ Valbuena told Planet Detroit. Nearly half (47%) of CHASS’s annual 11,000 patients are covered by Medicaid, Valbuena said. Community health centers like CHASS are reimbursed by Medicaid through a prospective payment system for services provided to Medicaid beneficiaries, enabling them to pay for medical care as well as wraparound services like transportation and outreach.” [Planet Detroit, 7/21/25]
The Citizens Research Council Of Michigan Estimated That As Many As 200,000 Michiganders Would Lose Their Healthcare If The Republican Budget Bill Cuts Were Enacted. According to Planet Detroit, “The health care of hundreds of thousands of Michiganders could be at risk following the passage of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which threatens to impact residents across the state as well as the local providers that may struggle to serve them due to reduced operating budgets. The Citizens Research Council of Michigan projects that as many as 200,000 people in Michigan will lose their direct insurance coverage through Medicaid, the federal-state insurance program that provides health and long-term care to millions of Americans. The law could result in Michigan losing $2 billion in federal funding over the next decade, the report said. ‘It is going to be devastating, not only here, but for health centers across the country,’ said Dr. Felix Valbuena Jr., CEO of the Community Health and Social Services Center, or CHASS, a community health center in Southwest Detroit.” [Planet Detroit, 7/21/25]
2024: According to KFF, Michigan’s Medicaid Program Was 72 Percent Funded With Federal Dollars. According to KFF,
[KFF, Viewed 4/9/26]
- A Former Republican Michigan Congressman Said Medicaid Cuts Introduced Through The Republican Budget Bill Would Be “Detrimental” To Michigan Due To The State’s Reliance On Federal Funding. According to an opinion by Dave Trott published in The Detroit News, “One in four Michiganians rely on Medicaid for essential care. This is nearly 2.6 million people, many of whom are individuals with disabilities and seniors who use the program to access long term care services that allow them to live with dignity in their communities. Throughout my tenure serving southeast Michigan in Congress, I was a steadfast advocate for continued healthcare coverage, especially for rural and vulnerable populations. I have always advocated for strong, sustainable healthcare coverage and I always will. Now, federal lawmakers are considering proposals to reduce the federal budget for this already underfunded program. These potential reductions would be detrimental to the future of long term care access across Michigan and would severely jeopardize the health and wellbeing of our state’s most vulnerable residents.” [Dave Trott Opinion – Detroit News, 6/11/25]
¶ April 2026: MI-10 Hospitals Were At Risk Of Closure After Trump and Johnson Gutted Medicaid
Michigan Hospitals Were Expected To Lose At Least $6 Billion Over A Decade From Federal Cuts To Medicaid. According to Bridge Michigan, “Sweeping legislation approved this week by the US Senate and awaiting final passage in the House would extend tax breaks approved during Trump’s first term, create new deductions and increase spending on other Trump priorities like immigration enforcement. But to help offset at least some of those costs, the proposal would significantly cut spending on Medicaid, which provides health care coverage for more than 2.6 million Michiganders, many of whom rely on rural hospitals that could lose significant revenue as a result. In Michigan alone, hospitals are bracing for a hit of at least $6 billion over the next decade from proposed federal cuts to Medicaid, according to the Michigan Health and Hospital Association, an industry group.” [Bridge Michigan, 7/2/25]
An Estimated 200,000 Michigan Residents Were Expected To Lose Medicaid Coverage Due To Federal Cuts. According to Bridge Michigan, “In Michigan, Medicaid provides health insurance to roughly 1 in 4 residents, primarily with lower-than-average incomes. Some 200,000 of those people could lose their coverage under the federal legislation, according to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who strongly opposes the GOP plan and on Tuesday called the proposed cuts ‘cruel and extreme.’ In 18 of the state’s counties — primarily rural — more than 40% of the counties’ residents are covered by Medicaid, Meghan Groen, who oversees Medicaid at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, recently told lawmakers.” [Bridge Michigan, 7/2/25]
¶ Twelve Michigan Hospitals Faced Cuts And Possible Closure Due To Federal Cuts, Including Two In Michigan’s Tenth District
More Than 400 Hospitals Across The United States Were At High Risk Of Closing Or Cutting Services Due To Cuts Made In The “Big, Beautiful Bill.” According to NBC News, “More than 400 hospitals across the United States are at high risk of closing or cutting services because of the Medicaid cuts in President Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill,’ according to an analysis from the progressive watchdog group Public Citizen. The fallout could make it harder for millions of people to get care and put thousands of health care workers’ jobs at risk as hospitals lose a key source of federal funding. Medicaid covers about a fifth of all hospital spending.” [NBC News, 3/31/26]
Two Of The Twelve Most At-Risk Hospitals In Michigan Were Located In Michigan’s Tenth District.
[Public Citizen – Hospitals At Risk Due To OBBBA, Viewed 4/29/26]
- Ascension Macomb Oakland Hospital, Located In MI-10, Was At-Risk For Closure.
[Public Citizen – At Risk Hospitals, Viewed 4/29/26]
- Insight Surgical Hospital, Located In MI-10, Was At-Risk For Closure.
[Public Citizen – At Risk Hospitals, Viewed 4/29/26]