One-term Congressman Jeff Hurd has the distinction of casting a vote that will bring irreparable harm to the San Luis Valley. In short, he voted to give $4 trillion dollars in tax cuts to the ultra-wealthy and corporations while cutting access to healthcare, food assistance, and education for the people of our community. 

President Trump and MAGA Republicans lied to voters during the campaign when they claimed that they would not harm Medicaid and Medicare. In April, Hurd signed a letter stating he would not support a “reconciliation bill that includes any reduction in Medicaid coverage for vulnerable populations.” Yet, Hurd joined the MAGA herd and voted with 214 Republicans to pass a House bill that does just that and sets the stage for a reconciliation bill with the Senate. Had he voted no, the bill would have failed. In passing the bill, Hurd and the Republicans have threatened the very economic future of the San Luis Valley. 

Learning well from Trump, Republicans have mastered the art of the grift. They say one thing during the campaign, but they do something different in the dark of night. They not only voted for the largest Medicaid cuts in history, but the independent Congressional Budget Office concluded their legislation will result in a cut of $500 billion to Medicare.  

Republicans claim their actions will strengthen and protect these programs as well as bring our debt under control. This is another lie. If they believed they were cutting the debt, why are they raising the debt ceiling by a record $4 trillion?  It is because they know their “big beautiful bill” will explode the debt to record levels in a very short period of time. 

I have a question for my Republican friends: what is the compelling reason to take away healthcare from millions of Americans while creating enormous tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations? 

Substantial cuts to Medicare and Medicaid endanger the poor, working class, and senior citizens. What will Rep. Hurd say to the 31% of percent of his district who receive healthcare through Colorado’s Medicaid program? What will he say to senior citizens who rely on Medicare for their doctors and Medicaid for care facility assistance? What is his response to the threat that these cuts pose for the future of our San Luis Valley Health Regional Medical Center and those who provide care for our families? 

The budget carnage and cruelty don’t end there. While the wealthy will benefit from this bill, there are few Americans, including the rich, who will escape it unscathed. To start, the Republican bill will devastate funding for education from Head Start to higher education. It threatens access to college financial aid like Pell Grants and Work Study for working and middle-class families. If this happens, Adams State University and its students will face major, perhaps insurmountable, challenges. 

With this Republican agenda, scientific research, environmental protections, public lands, food safety, public health, air safety, support for the arts, reproductive healthcare, Social Security, FEMA, food assistance programs, renewable energy, AmeriCorps, the postal service, national parks, rebuilding infrastructure, and much more are sacrificed on the altar of tax cuts. 

Again, what is the compelling reason for a massive reallocation of government priorities and resources from the majority to the few who are the most well off in our society? How will it make our nation stronger and our lives better by eliminating programs that serve all Americans regardless of political party or geography? These are the questions Trump and Republicans won’t answer. 

What is their motive? Are Republicans so committed to enriching millionaires and billionaires that they will purposely harm our economy and our SLV community? Or, is it about a fetishistic fantasy of conservatives to reward the rich and punish the poor? Perhaps, it is something else. Is it about some sort of cruel shock and awe effort to centralize power under Donald Trump as plotted out in the dystopian document Project 2025?  Is it another step towards changing our country from a democratic republic into an autocracy? 

Republicans can’t provide good answers, only bad outcomes for all of us. What else would you expect from grift? This battle over our future now moves to the Senate. If you haven’t joined the fight yet, it is now time. Make your voice heard. The America they are trying to erase is an America worth defending. 

John H. Taylor is a faculty member at Adams State University. These views are his own and do not reflect those of the university.