Democrats are planning to make Republicans take uncomfortable amendment votes. (Getty Images)
"Americans want us to lower the cost of their health care, not rip it away from new moms, seniors in long-term care, and poor kids," Baldwin told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement. "Republicans have claimed they would protect Medicaid – despite their budget telling us otherwise – but tonight, they will have the chance to put their money where their mouth is: will they prevent Medicaid from being cut or will they put it on the chopping block to fund their billionaire tax break?"
Her amendments will get votes after others that are teed up by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Democrats. The first amendment of the evening, per a Senate Democratic source, will be aimed at stopping Republicans from renewing the tax cuts in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), which is a priority for Trump.
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Hawley pushed back on potential Medicaid and Medicare cuts. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Such cuts could prove unpopular in Republican states with significant Medicaid coverage, such as Louisiana, Arkansas, Kentucky and West Virginia, which each reported more than 25% of their populations covered by either Medicaid or Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) as of last year, per KFF.
After Senate Republicans cleared a procedural vote on their budget last week, it triggered a 50-hour debate clock that will end on Thursday evening. Then, a marathon of votes, known as a "Vote-a-Rama" will begin.
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Medicaid cuts would significantly affect some red states. (iStock)
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Senators are able to introduce an unlimited number of amendments, which will then all get votes on the Senate floor. The process will force Republicans to take a large number of potentially uncomfortable votes teed up by their Democratic counterparts.
Going forward with the marathon of votes appears to be a calculated risk for Senate Republicans after Trump endorsed the House GOP's budget resolution on Truth Social over theirs. However, Vice President JD Vance gave GOP senators a green light on Wednesday to continue with their budget despite this, a source told Fox News Digital.
Julia Johnson is a politics writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business, leading coverage of the U.S. Senate. She was previously a politics reporter at the Washington Examiner.
Follow Julia's reporting on X at @JuliaaJohnson_ and send tips to Julia.Johnson@fox.com.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/exclusive-dems-force-votes-medicaid-becomes-sore-point-senate-budget-fight