Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Passes, Reshaping SNAP, Medicaid With New Work Rules

The $4.5 trillion tax breaks and spending cuts bill, which House Republicans lifted to final passage Thursday, includes about $186 billion in SNAP cuts over eight years, along with new work requirements for both SNAP and Medicaid recipients.

Written By EEW Magazine Online News Editors

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WASHINGTON (EEW Magazine Online) — The sweeping tax-and-spending legislation known as Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill significantly changes the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid, two safety nets that serve tens of millions of Americans.

Supporters call the proposals a push toward greater self-sufficiency. Critics warn they could lead to large-scale losses of food and healthcare assistance, especially in communities of color.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, provides monthly food benefits to help low-income families put food on the table.


Under the plan, most able-bodied adults—including parents with children older than 13—will need to work or participate in approved job training for at least 20 hours a week to keep their SNAP benefits. Medicaid will impose similar requirements for health coverage, though exemptions apply for people with disabilities and certain caregivers.

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“Encouraging work is the key to breaking cycles of dependency and lifting families up,” said Sen. Mark Edwards, R-Texas, a supporter of the bill, during floor debate last week. “This legislation provides tools to do just that.”


Encouraging work is the key to breaking cycles of dependency and lifting families up.
— Sen. Mark Edwards, R-Texas

Opponents argue that the requirements could harm people who want to work but face barriers like lack of child care, reliable transportation or stable job opportunities.

“These changes won’t create jobs,” said Rep. Vanessa Price, D-Md. “They will simply make it harder for people to eat and see a doctor.”

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Pew Research data shows that Black and Hispanic families are likely to feel the impact more acutely. According to the Census Bureau’s Survey of Income and Program Participation, Black Americans account for about 25% of SNAP households, though they represent roughly 12% of the U.S. population.

Hispanic households make up about 18% of SNAP recipients, compared to about 19% of the population.

White households, meanwhile, comprise about 36% of SNAP recipients, though White Americans make up roughly 60% of the population.

Medicaid shows a similar pattern. About 43% of enrollees are White, 21% are Black and 28% are Hispanic, according to Medicaid.gov. That means Black and Hispanic Americans are more likely to rely on Medicaid compared to their population share, even though White Americans account for the largest number of enrollees overall.

More White Americans are enrolled in Medicaid by number — but Black and Hispanic families rely on it at higher rates compared to their population size.

The new requirements will likely phase in beginning in 2026, with full implementation by 2028. States will have greater flexibility in designing their Medicaid programs but will also assume a larger share of costs, as federal funding decreases under the plan.

Supporters say the changes will promote personal responsibility and reduce long-term federal spending. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates the legislation would save hundreds of billions over a decade, though it would also increase the federal deficit overall due to tax cuts and defense spending increases.

Advocates for the poor say the bill could create hardship without addressing structural challenges like job availability or wage stagnation.

Trump is expected to sign the bill July 4 at 5 p.m. ET.

The tight roll call, 218-214, came at a potentially high political cost, with two Republicans joining all Democrats opposed. GOP leaders worked overnight and the president himself leaned on a handful of skeptics to drop their opposition and send the bill to his desk to become law.

The outcome delivers a milestone for the president and his party, a longshot effort to compile a lengthy list of GOP priorities into what they called his “one big beautiful bill,” an 800-plus page package. With Democrats unified in opposition, the bill will become a defining measure of Trump’s return to the White House, with the sweep of Republican control of Congress.

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