Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) delivered a scathing rebuke Thursday after the House passed President Donald Trump’s sweeping budget reconciliation package, officially known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). Speaking from the steps of Capitol Hill, Ocasio-Cortez called it “one of the saddest days in modern American history,” condemning the legislation’s deep cuts to social safety nets and massive tax breaks for the wealthy.
“People are going to go hungry. People are going to get sick,” she said. “And all of it is just to finance tax cuts for billionaires and the wealthiest corporations who don’t even need it.”
The legislation, which Trump signed into law on July 4, makes permanent many of the individual tax cuts enacted during his first term and introduces new incentives such as tax deductions for tips, overtime pay, and auto loans. It also establishes “Trump Accounts,” tax-deferred savings plans for children, and increases the child tax credit by $200.
But critics argue these provisions are dwarfed by the bill’s cost-cutting measures, particularly a 12% reduction in Medicaid funding and expanded work requirements for food assistance programs. States will now assume more responsibility for SNAP administration, potentially limiting access for low-income families.
Perhaps most controversially, the OBBBA injects an unprecedented $150 billion into border enforcement and immigration operations, quadrupling ICE’s budget from $10 billion to over $100 billion by 2029—making it the most heavily funded law enforcement agency in the country.
“It is setting up to make what’s happening now look like child’s play,” Ocasio-Cortez warned on social media, referencing the bill’s $170 billion total immigration allocation.
While the bill also boosts semiconductor manufacturing and increases defense spending, it phases out key clean energy tax credits from the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act, favoring fossil fuel development instead.
The bill passed largely along party lines and marks a significant victory for Trump’s second-term agenda. Still, Ocasio-Cortez warned the American public should brace for the human cost: “I don’t think we’re prepared for how catastrophic this is set to be.”
