¶ President Trump And Speaker Johnson Both Endorsed Casey Askar For Congress
Trump Endorsed Askar For Congress, Claiming Askar “Will Never Let You Down.” According to a post from Donald Trump’s Truth Social account,
[Truth Social, @realDonaldTrump, 9/1/26]
Speaker Mike Johnson Endorsed Askar For Congress, Claiming Askar Would Help “Grow Our House Republican Majority And Continue Our American Comeback.” According to a post from Speaker Mike Johnson’s on Twitter,
[Twitter, @MikeJohnson, 9/2/26]
¶ Askar Claimed To Be A “Strong, Loyal Ally Of President Trump” Who Has “Always Voted, Supported, Donated To President Trump”
Askar Claimed He Was A “Strong, Loyal Ally Of President Trump” Who Has “Always Voted, Supported, Donated To President Trump.” According to a video posted by Casey Askar, “ASKAR: I’m a strong, loyal ally of President Trump. I’ve always voted, supported, donated to President Trump.” [Casey Askar, YouTube, 7/20/26] (video)
¶ Trump and Johnson Were Responsible For Ripping Healthcare Away From Americans
¶ July 2025: Trump And Johnson Worked Together To Pass The Final Version Of Republicans’ Reconciliation Bill That Was Estimated To Result In At Least 17 Million Americans Losing Their Health Insurance
7/3/25: Johnson And Trump Worked Together To Pass The “One Big Beautiful Bill.” According to Fox News, "House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., touted the close coordination between Congress and President Donald Trump to successfully pass the ‘one big, beautiful bill,’ saying the collaboration is part of the ‘beauty of unified government.’ Congress officially passed Trump’s multitrillion-dollar bill Thursday afternoon after back-to-back sleepless sessions for both the House and Senate. The massive agenda package now goes to Trump’s desk to be signed into law just in time for Republicans’ self-imposed Fourth of July deadline." [Fox News, 7/3/25]
Trump And Johnson Lobbied The Republican Holdouts To Make Way For Passage Of The Bill. According to NBC News, "A bloc of Republican holdouts had initially opposed a procedural vote Wednesday to advance the bill, leading to an hourslong overnight standoff. But Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., managed to sway all but one of them, teeing up final passage in the House." [NBC News, 7/3/25]
- HEADLINE: "At Least 17 Million Americans Would Lose Insurance Under Trump Plan" [Washington Post, 7/1/25]
- The Congressional Budget Office Estimated That 11.8 Million People Would Become Uninsured As A Result Of The Medicaid Cuts In Republicans’ Reconciliation Bill. According to the Washington Post, "The bill, which narrowly passed the Senate on Tuesday and now heads back to the House, would effectively accomplish what Republicans have long failed to do: unwind many of the key components of the ACA, President Barack Obama’s signature domestic achievement, which dramatically increased the number of Americans with access to health insurance. To start, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the Senate version of the bill would result in 11.8 million more uninsured in 2034, mostly because of Medicaid cuts, compared with 10.9 million if the House version became law." [Washington Post, 7/1/25]
¶ May 2025: Trump And Johnson Spearheaded The Effort To Pass Republicans’ Budget Bill, Which Would Kick Millions Of People Off Medicaid
May 2025: Johnson Reached Agreements With Conservative And Moderate Republicans With Help From Donald Trump Before Passing The Sweeping Budget Bill. According to the Guardian, "The biggest obstacle the bill faces is disputes among Republicans themselves. In the days leading up to the vote, Johnson had to reach agreements with lawmakers representing Democratic-led states who demanded a bigger deduction for state and local taxes (Salt). He also had to woo moderates wary of cutting too deeply into safety net programs and rightwing lawmakers demanding more cost savings. The speaker appears to have bridged those divides, aided by a visit to the Capitol from Trump on Tuesday. Moderates backed down after some cuts were nixed, while lawmakers who held out over Salt won an enlarged tax break. Johnson also managed to corral most fiscal conservatives, but acknowledged: ‘There was a few moments over the last week when it looked like the thing might fall apart.’" [Guardian, 5/22/25]
May 2025: The Passage Of The Budget Bill Was A “Triumphant Moment For Johnson,” Who Got The Bill Passed With A Singular Vote Margin. According to ABC News, "A smiling Speaker Mike Johnson announced the massive measure passed by a single vote -- 215-214 -- and was greeted with applause. He had struggled to get it done -- as he had promised -- by Memorial Day, before lawmakers go on recess. The sweeping package of tax cuts, Medicaid reform and immigration spending delivers on many of the president's domestic campaign promises. Following debate that stretched Wednesday through the entire night and into early Thursday morning, the vote was a triumphant moment for Johnson, who conquered sharp divisions among his conference ‘through a lot of prayer’ amid a historically low 3-vote majority." [ABC News, 5/22/25]
- The House GOP Budget Bill Was Estimated To Increase The Uninsured Population By 8.6 Million By 2034. According to CNN, “The Medicaid and Affordable Care Act provisions in the package could result in 8.6 million more people being uninsured in 2034, according to an early CBO estimate released by Democratic lawmakers. That number is expected to grow with the latest changes.” [CNN, 5/28/25]
- The House GOP Budget Bill Codified A Trump Administration Proposal That Restricted Access To The Affordable Care Act. According to CNN, “The bill also calls for codifying a Trump administration proposal that would make changes to the Affordable Care Act enrollment process, including shortening the open enrollment period and eliminating the ability of low-income Americans to sign up year-round.” [CNN, 5/28/25]
¶ February 2025: Johnson And Trump Pushed Forward A Budget Bill That Spelled Out Future Medicaid Cuts
Johnson “Fought On All Fronts” To Advance The Budget Bill That Passed “With A Push From President Donald Trump.” According to the Associated Press, "With a push from President Donald Trump, House Republicans sent a GOP budget blueprint to passage Tuesday, a step toward delivering his ‘big, beautiful bill’ with $4.5 trillion in tax breaks and $2 trillion in spending cuts despite a wall of opposition from Democrats and discomfort among Republicans. House Speaker Mike Johnson had almost no votes to spare in his bare-bones GOP majority and fought on all fronts — against Democrats, uneasy rank-and-file Republicans and skeptical GOP senators — to advance the party’s signature legislative package. Trump made calls to wayward GOP lawmakers and invited Republicans to the White House. The vote was 217-215, with a single Republican and all Democrats opposed, and the outcome was in jeopardy until the gavel." [Associated Press, 2/25/25]
- HEADLINE: “What Can House Republicans Cut Instead Of Medicaid? Not Much.” [New York Times, 2/25/25]
- HEADLINE: "House Republican Budget Takes Away Health Care, Food Aid To Pay For Expanded Tax Cuts For Wealthy" [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 2/21/25]
- New York Times Reported The $880 Billion In Cuts Required By The Republican Budget Proposal Would Have To Come From Medicaid, Medicare, Or CHIP. According to the New York Times, "The budget resolution itself is silent on whether Congress cuts Medicaid, which provides health coverage to 72 million poor and disabled Americans. But it instructs the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over the program, to cut spending by $880 billion over the next decade. If the committee can’t save at least that much, the entire effort could be imperiled because of the special process Congress is using to avoid a Senate filibuster. Ten other committees have their own instructions to follow, though none have been assigned with cutting nearly as much. It’s not so simple as finding the cuts elsewhere. The special process, known as budget reconciliation, means Republicans will have to find all $880 billion from within the Energy and Commerce Committee’s jurisdiction. That leaves them with fewer options than one might think. […] If Republicans want to avoid major cuts to Medicaid, the largest pot of available money is in the other big government health insurance program: Medicare. […] Even if the committee cuts everything that’s not health care to $0, it will still be more than $600 billion short. The committee could also save around $200 billion by eliminating the Children’s Health Insurance Program, but that option has not been raised by the budget committee or anyone in House leadership. […] Even if all of these cuts, revenues and rule cancellations from outside health care can pass muster, the committee will still be left with hundreds of billions of dollars to cut to hit its goal. Mathematically, the budget committee’s instructions mean the committee would need to make major cuts to either Medicare, Medicaid or both." [New York Times, 2/25/25]
¶ More Than 4.3 Million People In Florida Were Enrolled In Medicaid
May 2025: 4,343,0000 Children And Adults In Florida Were Enrolled In Medicaid. According to KFF, as of May 2025, 4,343,0000 children and adults in Florida were enrolled in Medicaid.
[KFF – Florida State Medicaid Fact Sheet, 5/25]
2023: 124,800 Floridians In The 22nd Congressional District (Prior To Redistricting) Were Enrolled In Either CHIP Or Medicaid.
[Center for American Progress, 3/11/25]
¶ Florida Was Set To Lose Billions Of Dollars For The State Healthcare System After Medicaid Cuts
The Big, Beautiful Bill Was Projected To Cut $3.8 Billion From Florida’s Healthcare System And Would Lead To A Cap On State-Directed Payments Going To Hospitals. According to Florida Politics, “President Donald Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ will cut $3.8 billion from Florida’s health care system, with that money primarily affecting Florida hospitals. Brian Meyer, Florida’s Medicaid director, gave an update at the House Health Care Facilities and Systems Subcommittee. The new law is making cuts to Medicaid, among other reforms. One of the major changes in Florida will be a cap on state-directed payments going to hospitals, with the changes setting that Medicaid cap at 110% of Medicare to more align the two rates, Meyer told lawmakers.” [Florida Politics, 10/8/25]
¶ Florida Had The Greatest Number Of Affordable Care Act Enrollees In The Nation, And Askar Pledged To “End Obamacare Once And For All.”
2024: Florida Led The Nation In The Number Of People Who Have Signed Up For Health Insurance Under The Affordable Care Act, With More Than 4.6 Million Floridians Enrolled. According to WLRN, “Florida is again leading the country in the number of people who have signed up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. New data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services show that more than 4.6 million Floridians signed up for the federal program in 2024.” [WLRN, 1/10/25]
Askar Said He Would “End Obamacare Once And For All.” According to Casey Askar for Congress, “End Obamacare once and for all, and replace it with a vehicle that works for all Americans. By cracking down on government waste and fraud, we will be able to preserve Medicaid and Medicare for generations to come. Protecting the current healthcare policies and initiatives are paramount to better mental and physical healthcare. We must continue to work to lower drug and healthcare insurance costs. All options to do so must be on the table.” [Casey Askar for Congress, viewed 9/15/26]
¶
About 440,000 Floridians Lost Their Healthcare Through The Affordable Care Act After Republicans In Congress Allowed Enhanced Federal Subsidies For The Program To Expire
After Republicans In Congress Let Enhanced Federal Subsidies For Affordable Care Act Health Plans Expire, About 440,000 Floridians Dropped Their Plans. According to WFLA 8, “After Republicans in Congress let enhanced federal subsidies for Affordable Care Act health plans expire in January, millions of Americans including Button had to decide whether to keep insurance that often doubled or tripled in cost — or risk going without it. […] Figures first reported by The Associated Press showed that about 440,000 Floridians dropped their Affordable Care Act plans this year — more than in any other state. Thousands more who kept coverage are struggling to get by, as prices of necessities like groceries and gasoline remain steep, and health insurers project another year of double-digit premium hikes.” [WFLA 8, 8/26/26]