RICHMOND, Va. — U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine and the Richmond NAACP hosted a discussion Saturday on the impacts of President Donald Trump's recently passed tax and spending bill.
Republicans are framing the legislation as a tax cut for all Americans, highlighting new deductions on tips and overtime income. But Democrats have been making the case that the wealthiest Americans will benefit from the legislation, citing cuts to Medicaid and food assistance programs.
National Politics
Most US adults think the GOP tax bill will help the wealthy and harm the poor
The new law increases spending for border security and defense while extending Trump's 2017 tax cuts. It also makes cuts to social safety net programs like Medicaid and the SNAP food assistance program.
Kaine told the crowd, which included members of the Urban League of Greater Richmond and the Richmond chapters of the National Pan-Hellenic Council and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, that he is worried about how the cuts will affect Virginians.
National Politics
What's in the tax and spending bill that Trump has signed into law
"And that cut happens at the end of this calendar year," Kaine explained. "So for any Virginian who was on Medicaid, who has bought on the exchange under Obamacare, or is getting premium support, much of that will be slashed at year end and it will be harder to afford insurance."
Additionally, Kaine said at least 322,000 Virginians will lose health insurance due to the cuts. Many rural hospitals will also lose federal funding from Medicaid, according to the senator.
WATCH: Affordable Care Act becoming unaffordable? Premiums rising 15% as tax credits expire
President Trump celebrated the bill's passage with Republican senators at the White House on Friday night.
"We delivered the largest tax cut in American history, the largest spending cut in American history, the most deregulation in American history," Trump said.
The president also participated in a signing ceremony for the GENIUS Act, saying it will "make America stronger" on top of his "One Big Beautiful Bill."
The GENIUS Act sets initial guardrails and consumer protections for stablecoins, which are tied to assets like the U.S. dollar to reduce price volatility compared with other forms of cryptocurrency. It passed both the House and Senate with wide bipartisan margins.
The new law is meant to bolster consumer confidence in the crypto industry, which has quickly become a major power player in Washington thanks to massive campaign donations and spending on lobbying. Its passage comes as Trump had repeatedly pledged to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the world.”
The House also passed two other bills Thursday that are meant to help the crypto industry. One creates a new market structure for cryptocurrency, and the other bans the Federal Reserve from issuing a new digital currency. Both measures now go to the Senate.
WATCH: Demonstrators in Richmond protest Trump tax and spending bill: 'Everyone is going to be affected'
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. To learn more about how we use AI in our newsroom, click here.
