“U.S. Rep. John James, a 2026 gubernatorial candidate, declined to answer a question Tuesday about whether he would get rid of Michigan’s Medicaid expansion program if elected governor next year.”
LANSING — After voting to gut Medicaid for more than 500,000 Michiganders, John James is now keeping the door open to ending Medicaid expansion entirely.
When pressed by The Detroit News on “if he would get rid of the expanded Medicaid program if he became governor in 2027, when state budget analysts project deep cuts will be needed as a result of Trump’s tax bill,” James dodged the question and said he wasn’t sure “how much we can get into politics.”
It comes after James’ spokesperson didn’t respond to a request for comment from Michigan Advance earlier this month on his support for cutting Medicaid during the program’s 60th anniversary.
“John James is trying to hide from the fact that he voted to cut Medicaid for more than 500,000 people, and now he’s leaving the door open to ending Medicaid expansion entirely,” said Michigan Democratic Party spokesperson Derrick Honeyman. “John James is too extreme for our state and Michiganders will remember next year how he was a key vote to rip away their health care.”
Read more from The Detroit News on James sidestepping a question on Medicaid cuts:
The Detroit News: Rep. John James sidesteps question on Medicaid cuts during Coast Guard station visit
- U.S. Rep. John James, a 2026 gubernatorial candidate, declined to answer a question Tuesday about whether he would get rid of Michigan’s Medicaid expansion program if elected governor next year.
- President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which he signed into law last month, includes cuts to Medicaid. Michigan expanded its Medicaid health insurance program in 2014 through the Affordable Care Act, adding hundreds of thousands of low-income adults.
- During a visit on Tuesday to the U.S. Coast Guard’s air station at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, James was asked by The Detroit News if he would get rid of the expanded Medicaid program if he became governor in 2027, when state budget analysts project deep cuts will be needed as a result of Trump’s tax bill.
- “I’m not sure how much we can get into politics … on a Air National Guard base or an official site, but I’m sure we’d be happy to follow up with you on that,” James told a reporter.
- The Medicaid cuts in the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” are expected to total $1 trillion nationally over the next 10 years, according to estimates from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.
- The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has estimated that revisions to provider tax rates and state-directed payments, which help fund the state’s Medicaid programs, will cut $2.5 billion from Michigan health care providers when the changes are fully implemented. More than 500,000 Michigan residents could lose their health insurance under Medicaid starting in 2027 because of the bill, according to MDHHS.
- The nonpartisan Citizens Research Council of Michigan has estimated that the tax bill James voted will put an immediate $450 million dent in the general fund that supports the Medicaid program. Overall, the state will take a $1.1 billion hit in the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, the Citizens Research Council said last month.
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