LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Rep. Mike Flood has gotten an earful during a public meeting in Lincoln aimed at discussing his support for the massive tax breaks and spending cuts bill that passed Congress and was signed into law by President Donald Trump.
Flood, a second-term Republican who represents the GOP-leaning district that includes the University of Nebraska, on Monday braved the ire of a college town audience dominated by hundreds of people intent on expressing their displeasure chiefly with cuts to Medicaid benefits and tax reductions tilted toward the wealthy.
Flood described the law as less than perfect but stood firm on its Medicaid and tax provisions, fueling a 90-minute barrage of jeers and chants in a scenario House Republican leaders have specifically advised GOP members to avoid.
“More than anything I truly believe this bill protects Medicaid for the future,” Flood said, setting off a shower of boos from the audience of roughly 700 in the University of Nebraska’s Kimball Recital Hall. “We protected Medicaid.”
How voters receive the law, passed with no Democratic support in the narrowly GOP-controlled House and Senate, could go a long way to determine whether Republicans keep power in next year’s midterm elections.
Flood was resolute on his position but engaged with the audience at times. During his repeated discussions of Medicaid, he asked if people in the audience thought able-bodied Americans should be required to work. When many shouted their opposition, Flood replied, “I don’t think a majority of Nebraskans agree with that.”
Dozens formed a line to the microphone to engage Flood, most asking pointed questions about the law but many others questioning moves by the Trump administration on immigration enforcement, education spending and layoffs within the federal bureaucracy.
During Flood’s discussion of his support of the law’s tax provisions, which he argued would benefit the middle class, the audience exploded in a deafening chant of “Tax the rich.”
Republican lawmakers’ town halls have been few and far between since the bill passed early last month, in part because their leaders have advised them against it. Trump and others say the law will give the economy a jolt, but Democrats feel they’ve connected with criticism of many of its provisions, especially its cuts to Medicaid and tax cuts tilted toward the wealthy.
