Local progressive groups and unions spent two days rallying outside U.S. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis’ Bay Ridge office, urging the Republican pol to reject President Donald Trump’s controversial “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”
After a marathon voting session, the Senate on July 1 passed the domestic megabill 51-50, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote. The bill is now heading back to the House, where Republicans are already divided over the impacts the bill would have on the national deficit, Medicaid spending, and more. If the bill is to pass in the House, Republicans can’t lose more than three votes, and are under pressure from Trump to pass the bill by July 4.
The Senate version proposes cutting Medicaid by $930 billion over 10 years, which experts warn would put millions of low-income and disabled Americans at risk of losing or having restricted access to public healthcare resources including Medicaid, Medicare, Child Health Plus, and the Affordable Care Act. Cuts to Medicaid could also force rural hospitals and community health centers, which already operate on tight budgets, to close their doors.
Malliotakis celebrated the bill’s first passage in the House in May, calling it a “a big win for hardworking taxpayers.”
While the legislation contains about $4.5 trillion in tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, it also allocates $350 billion for national security, including $46 billion for the U.S.-Mexico border wall, $45 billion for 100,000 migrant detention facility beds, and almost $30 billion towards Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Currently, ICE’s annual budget is around $10 billion. With the House vote looming, groups including Indivisible Brooklyn and 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers braved the wind and rain to rally against the bill.
Lisa Raymond-Tolan, an organizer with Indivisible Brooklyn, urged Malliotakis to “stop the bill dead in its tracks” and vote in favor of her constituents.
According to the NYC Comptroller’s office, about 4 million New Yorkers rely on Medicaid for their healthcare coverage. In Malliotakis’ 11th Congressional district, which includes Bay Ridge, 222,383 people rely on Medicaid and Child Health Plus. Over 120,000 of her constituents, including children, seniors, and veterans, rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which also faces cuts of almost $300 billion.
“We hope to sway her through humanity, through caring for her community,” Tolan said. “[The legislation] is going to be absolutely horrendous for her district and the entire country.”
Comptroller Brad Lander told the crowd that cuts to Medicaid would impact many Americans, regardless of party affiliation.
“Regardless of who they voted for in this past election — Republicans, Democrats, and Independents — everybody needs a hospital to go to when they get sick,” he said. “They need health care.”
Lander said voting “no” on Trump’s megabill was Malliotakis’s chance to get it “right.”
“Is [Malliotakis] willing to strip a trillion dollars out of Medicaid in order to give more tax breaks to the wealthiest? And let’s translate what that means. $1 trillion will strip healthcare from 12 million Americans. In New York State, that’ll be $13 billion for 1.5 million New Yorkers who will lose their health care,” Lander said.
Independent analysts have found that the bill’s tax cuts would disproportionately benefit the wealthiest Americans, while saving low-income families just 1% on their taxes and middle-income Americans about 2.3%.
Council Member Justin Brannan, whose district includes Bay Ridge, said legislation that would support the working and middle class wasn’t a radical idea.
“What’s radical is tax breaks for billionaires. What’s radical is endless wars. What’s radical is cutting the social safety net to fund more tax breaks for billionaires,” Brannan said. “That’s who Nicole is; she’s showing us who she is. Let’s not forget it!”
Troy McGhie, a Democrat running for Malliotakis’ seat in the 2026 election, told Brooklyn Paper he decided to run when it became apparent to him that Malliotakis didn’t represent her constituents.
“[Malliotakis] has chosen billionaires over babies, she’s chosen corporations over communities, and she’s chosen her career over her constituents,” McGhie told the crowd. “Remember that, because over the next 17 months, this is not going to be the only time that she sides with the billionaires over her constituents.”
In a statement, Malliotakis claimed that as far as Medicaid was concerned, the legislation would protect seniors, the disabled, children, pregnant mothers, and low-income individuals below the federal poverty level, while rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse.
“We ensure illegal immigrants do not benefit and ineligible fraudsters no longer steal from taxpayers and the able-bodied young adults work, learn, volunteer, or work part time, provisions that are widely supported by the vast majority of Americans,” Malliotakis said.
She also referred to the State and Local Tax deductions (SALT) she secured for tipped workers, senior citizens, and middle-class taxpayers.
“Tipped workers, senior citizens on social security, and middle-class taxpayers who will benefit from this SALT deduction that I secured in the legislation are not rich, and these benefits have a capped income to ensure low and middle-income earners are the ones who benefit. Failure to pass this legislation would have also resulted in the standard deduction and child tax credit being cut in half and a 22% increase for the average New Yorker.”
