Dear John,

“We’re all going to die,” Sen. Joni Ernst
“They’ll get over it,” Sen. Mitch McConnell
“It’s immaterial,” Vice President JD Vance

That’s what these elected officials had to say as they passed a horrific, dangerous, and cruel tax and budget bill.

17 million people losing health care coverage. One in four nursing homes closing. 200 Planned Parenthood clinics providing reproductive care, cancer screenings, and STI testing and treatment, forced to shutter. 22 million families with less food on the table. Supercharging ICE’s budget to terrorize and kidnap more of our neighbors. The largest transfer of wealth from everyday people to billionaires in history.

None of that is immaterial or something that communities will easily get over.
You know that.
You showed up with us.
You made hundreds of calls and sent thousands of emails to your senators and House representatives to make sure they knew exactly what was at stake.
Thank you.

While in the end a narrow majority in Congress voted to steal health care coverage, food, reproductive health care, and education from millions, some of the particularly awful parts of the budget bill were cut before passage, including:

• Bans on medically necessary health care for both transgender youth and adults,
• Broader anti-abortion restrictions for health care coverage from the Affordable Care Act,
• A provision that would have effectively eliminated the judicial branch's ability to promptly address lawless behavior by the federal government,
• Burdensome documentation requirements for families trying to access the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), and
• A 10-year ban on states' ability to protect against the discriminatory impact of AI.

Despite these victories, this bill is a devastating betrayal that will hurt women, families, and communities in every single aspect of our lives. I’m mourning its passage with you, and I’m heartbroken at the willingness of so many elected officials to rob us of health care coverage, abortion access, food assistance, and more in order to pay for tax cuts for billionaires.

Every member of Congress who voted to pass Trump’s death bill has blood on their hands. We will not forget that they prioritized the interests of the ultra-wealthy over the most vulnerable.

If you’re feeling exhausted, overlooked, or scared about what these cuts mean for you or your loved ones: we understand. But know that the National Women’s Law Center isn’t done. We’re going to uplift the real stories of people and communities who will be harmed by Trump’s budget to make sure our elected officials and the media don’t easily move on. And we will keep advocating in both Congress and in the states to protect you and your family as much as we can. No matter what your representatives or this administration does, we’ll never stop fighting for you.

In solidarity,

Fatima Goss Graves
she/her/hers
President & CEO
National Women’s Law Center