Trump has already tapped controversial figures for Cabinet posts, and he could continue the trend by nominating someone like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to run the Department of Health and Human Services or its subagencies, like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Trump has promised not to touch Medicare and Social Security, but Republicans want to extend his 2017 tax cuts. Those will need to be paid for somehow, putting Medicaid at risk. Conservatives have long eyed changes to the program, including work requirements for beneficiaries and capping the federal share.
Republicans don’t have 60 votes to overcome a filibuster, but tax policy can be passed through reconciliation, a budgetary maneuver that requires only a majority vote in the Senate. That means Republicans will likely let the enhanced ObamaCare subsidies expire without bargaining with Democrats, and could also slash Medicaid payments to states to save money.
When it comes to reproductive rights, Trump has said he would veto any effort to pass a national abortion ban, saying that power should be left up to states. But during his campaign, Trump also took credit for the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade, and at one point left the door open on a federal abortion ban.
Reproductive rights advocates have signaled they do not take Trump at his word and expect future abortion restrictions when he returns to the White House early next year. A GOP majority in both the House and the Senate would ultimately make it easier to rollout further restrictions.
