¶ Overview
- Desmond backed Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” which would trigger nearly $500 billion in Medicare cuts absent future congressional action. There were nearly 7 million people in California enrolled in Medicare.
- Desmond defended Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) and claimed it was not cutting Medicaid or Social Security. He also accused Democrats of fear-mongering even as DOGE cuts forced mass layoffs and longer wait times for seniors at the Social Security Administration. Effects from DOGE-era cuts lingered at Social Security offices across the nation even a year later.
- DOGE also threatened $1 billion worth of funding for public health, mental health, and scientific research projects in California. That included research into mental health care and HIV/AIDS at San Diego State, which was trying to establish itself as a top tier research university.
¶ Desmond Supported Legislation That Would Trigger Cuts To Medicare
¶ desmond backed trump’s “big beautiful bill,” WHICH WOULD TRIGGER NEARLY $500 BILLION IN MEDICARE CUTS absent future congressional action
7/3/25: Desmond Criticized His Democratic Opponent For Voting Against The “Big Beautiful Bill” Which He Praised For Allegedly Bringing Tax Relief To Middle And Working-Class Families. According to a post on Jim Desmond’s Twitter, "Families in Southern California are struggling just to stay afloat. The cost of everything—groceries, gas, electricity, insurance—has exploded. You’re working harder and getting less, while Washington keeps making things worse. My opponent had a chance to help, but instead he voted against *Eliminating taxes on tips, overtime, and Social Security *Making the Child Tax Credit permanent, helping over 40 million families Cutting taxes on Made-in-America auto loans *Putting an estimated $10,000 a year back into the average family’s pocket He voted to keep taxes high. He voted to block relief for middle- and working-class families. He voted to make life even more expensive than it already is. This effort still passed—but not because of him. The people in our district deserve better. You deserve a representative who fights to bring down costs, not protect a broken system that’s pricing people out of California. You shouldn’t be penalized for working overtime, leaving a tip jar out, or trying to raise a family here. That’s why I’m running—to bring real relief to the people who need it most." [Twitter, @JimDesmondSD, 7/3/25]
- HEADLINE: "Trump And GOP’s Tax Bill Would Force Cuts To Medicare, CBO Says" [Washington Post, 5/21/25]
- The Congressional Budget Office Estimated That The House Republican Reconciliation Bill Would Trigger Nearly $500 Billion In Cuts To Medicare. According to a letter the Congressional Budget Office sent to Rep. Brendan Boyle, "Today the Congressional Budget Office transmitted an estimate of the budgetary effects of the 2025 reconciliation bill, as ordered reported by the House Committee on the Budget on May 18, 2025. 1 CBO has not yet completed estimates of the effects of interactions among the titles of the legislation. This letter responds to your questions concerning the sequestration (the cancellation of budgetary resources) in accordance with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 (S-PAYGO) that would occur if an enacted bill raised deficits by $2.3 trillion over 10 years. Under S-PAYGO, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is required to maintain 5- and 10-year scorecards that it updates with the estimated cumulative changes in revenues and outlays generated by newly enacted legislation. […] The 4 percent maximum reduction in Medicare spending would apply to sequestration orders for years after 2026. If OMB ordered a sequestration of $230 billion for each year through 2034, the ordered reductions in Medicare spending would increase to about $75 billion in 2034 and would total roughly $490 billion over the 2027–2034 period." [Letter to Rep. Brendan Boyle – Congressional Budget Office, 5/20/25]
¶ Trump Lobbied Congress Hard To Pass The One Big Beautiful Bill
Trump Fought 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 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]
¶ almost 7 million people in california relied on medicare
2024: 6,933,303 People Were Enrolled In Medicare In California.
[KFF, Viewed 4/21/26]
¶ Desmond Defended Trump’s Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE) As It Weakened Americans’ Ability To Access To Social Security Agency And Made Cuts To Other Critical Programs
¶ desmond came to doge’s defense when it came to cutting government services
Desmond Defended The Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE) And Claimed It Would Not Cut Medicaid Or Social Security. According to a post on Jim Desmond’s Twitter, "And now, they’re lying again, saying the Department of Government Efficiency will cut Medicaid and Social Security. It’s completely false, but it makes for a great headline and fuels their favorite weapon—fear-mongering." [Twitter, @JimDesmondSD, 3/13/25]
¶ at the social security administration, doge had forced mass layoffs, longer wait times and frequent website crashes
One Year After DOGE-Era Cuts Resulted In A 12 Percent Cut Of The Social Security Administration’s Workforce, Social Security Offices Across The Country Still Struggled With Staffing. According to Business Insider, "More than a dozen Social Security field offices are listed as closed to in-person service, instead directing customers to reach out by phone or contact the national 800 number. Now, the list of closures has prompted concerns for the beleaguered agency and its recipients. A federal employees' union memo obtained by Business Insider sheds some light on why offices are closed: Some due to operational issues with their buildings, while others are so small that any understaffing forces them to temporarily shut down. […] The closures come at a tumultuous time for the Social Security Administration and its beneficiaries; the agency shed around 7,000 workers, or nearly 12% of its workforce, during the DOGE era, and has had to temporarily reassign some employees to staff phone lines. While the SSA said these office closures are temporary, staffing issues and a lack of field offices could be an increasing problem for the administration and recipients alike. Some currently-shuttered offices simply don't have enough staff. These smaller offices, called resident stations, are often staffed by just one person and serve low-population areas. Two resident stations in rural Montana and Wyoming are closed for lack of workers." [Business Insider, 4/23/26]
HEADLINE: "Social Security Stops Reporting Call Wait Times And Other Metrics" [Washington Post, 6/20/25]
HEADLINE: "As Social Security Services Are Cut Back, Millions Of Seniors Face Long Drives" [Axios, 4/8/25]
HEADLINE: "Social Security Website Keeps Crashing, As DOGE Demands Cuts To IT Staff" [Washington Post, 4/7/25]
HEADLINE: "Social Security Faces Thousands More Job Cuts Even With Service In Tailspin" [Washington Post, 4/4/25]
HEADLINE: “DOGE Cuts Create Confusion Over San Diego County Social Security Office” [NBC San Diego, 2/26/25]
The Social Security Administration Website Crashed Four Times In Ten Days In March Because Servers Were Overloaded. According to the Washington Post, "The Social Security Administration website crashed four times in 10 days this month because the servers were overloaded, blocking millions of retirees and disabled Americans from logging in to their online accounts. In the field, office managers have resorted to answering phones in place of receptionists because so many employees have been pushed out. Amid all this, the agency no longer has a system to monitor customer experience because that office was eliminated as part of the cost-cutting efforts led by Elon Musk. And the phones keep ringing. And ringing." [Washington Post, 3/25/25]
Field Office Managers At Social Security Offices Had To Answer Phones In Place Of Receptionists Because DOGE Had Pushed Out So Many Federal Employees. According to the Washington Post, "The Social Security Administration website crashed four times in 10 days this month because the servers were overloaded, blocking millions of retirees and disabled Americans from logging in to their online accounts. In the field, office managers have resorted to answering phones in place of receptionists because so many employees have been pushed out. Amid all this, the agency no longer has a system to monitor customer experience because that office was eliminated as part of the cost-cutting efforts led by Elon Musk. And the phones keep ringing. And ringing." [Washington Post, 3/25/25]
DOGE Eliminated The Social Security Administration’s System To Monitor Customer Experience. According to the Washington Post, "The Social Security Administration website crashed four times in 10 days this month because the servers were overloaded, blocking millions of retirees and disabled Americans from logging in to their online accounts. In the field, office managers have resorted to answering phones in place of receptionists because so many employees have been pushed out. Amid all this, the agency no longer has a system to monitor customer experience because that office was eliminated as part of the cost-cutting efforts led by Elon Musk. And the phones keep ringing. And ringing." [Washington Post, 3/25/25]
Early February-Late March 2025: AARP Said More Than 2,000 People Per Week Had Called Expressing Concerns About Whether They Would Continue To Get Their Social Security Benefits. According to the Washington Post, "Alarmed lawmakers are straining to answer questions back home from angry constituents. Calls have flooded into congressional offices. AARP announced Monday that more than 2,000 people a week have called the retiree organization since early February — double the usual number — with concerns about whether benefits they paid for during their working careers will continue. Social Security is the primary source of income for about 40 percent of older Americans." [Washington Post, 3/25/25]
¶ DOGE Cuts Caused Confusion When A San Diego Social Security Administration Office Was Included On A Lease Termination List
HEADLINE: "DOGE Cuts Create Confusion Over San Diego County Social Security Office" [NBC San Diego, 2/26/25]
DOGE Cuts Put Five San Diego County Government Offices On The List For Lease Termination, Including A Social Security Administration Office And A Food & Drug Administration Office. According to NBC San Diego, "Dozens of federal workers across San Diego County don’t know if they’ll still have an office in a matter of weeks or months. All they know is that their office is included on the Department of Government Efficiency’s ‘wall of receipts.’ Along with other cost-cutting measures, that site shows how much money DOGE says it’s saving taxpayers by terminating leases of government offices. Critics say shutting down these offices would directly harm people in San Diego County – whether they visit some of those offices, or rely on the services the workers inside those offices provide. Moreover, they say DOGE made these cuts indiscriminately. Five government offices in San Diego County are among the 748 across the country on DOGE’s list. Social Security Administration - Carlsbad Internal Revenue Service - San Marcos Food & Drug Administration - University Town Center International Trade Administration - Kearny Mesa Department of Labor - Downtown San Diego." [NBC San Diego, 3/11/25]
- HEADLINE: “DOGE Includes 5 Government Offices In San Diego County On Lease Terminations List” [NBC San Diego, 3/11/25]
¶ DOGE Cuts also affected California Public Health And Scientific Research Funding
DOGE Threatened $1 Billion In Funding For Public Health And Mental Health Projects In California. According to Cal Matters, "California may lose more than $1 billion in public health and mental health funding as a result of new federal budget cuts that target COVID-19 pandemic response grants, according to the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency website. The federal Department of Health and Human Services terminated $12 billion in grants intended for infectious disease response, mental health services and other public health issues, according to national reports. Most of the money came from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, while $1 billion was cut from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration." [Cal Matters, 3/27/25]
HEADLINE: “‘It’s Just Chaos’: How California Scientists Are Facing Attacks On Research By Trump And DOGE” [San Francisco Chronical, 3/7/26]
HEADLINE: "UCLA Professor Loses Millions In Funding For HIV Research Project" [ABC 7, 4/4/25]
DOGE Cuts Led To A Loss Of Funding For Research At San Diego State Into HIV/AIDS And Mental Health Care. According to EdSource, "Around the country this spring, many faculty members who rely on federal funding for research have received similarly abrupt termination notices. The moment is particularly poignant for Crespo’s institution, San Diego State, which this year accomplished the long-awaited goal of joining a prestigious club of top-tier research universities known as R1s. While a dip in federal support is unlikely to jeopardize that coveted recognition, it has disrupted research at San Diego State into subjects like mental health care and HIV/AIDS. The university’s research and development spending hit $158 million in the year ending June 2023, much of it fueled by federal dollars. The cancellations are part of efforts under President Donald Trump to cut federal funding and align it more closely with the president’s political objectives. The White House has targeted grants related to a wide range of areas, from climate change to gender and sexuality. Critically for Crespo, Trump’s NIH has also axed research related to racial inequities in health, vaccine hesitancy and Covid." [EdSource, 5/28/25]