Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) blasted House Republicans after reports surfaced that several who had initially opposed President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” changed their votes following private meetings with the president — meetings that reportedly ended with autographed MAGA memorabilia.
“House Republicans: Voting for cuts to every single American on SNAP in exchange for some signed merch,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Voting to starve babies. The disabled. The poor,” she added, referencing provisions in the bill that would shift much of the funding burden for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) from the federal government to the states.
She also took aim at the religious justifications offered by some GOP lawmakers who defended the bill. “And they have the audacity to try to brand this as Christian. What does that word even mean to them? Wearing a necklace?” she wrote.
With Trump pushing for the bill’s passage by his self-imposed July Fourth deadline, the former president spent much of Wednesday meeting with Republican holdouts behind closed doors. According to multiple reports, those lawmakers emerged not only more supportive of the bill—but also carrying signed Trump merchandise.
The original opposition came from two key GOP factions: hardline fiscal conservatives worried about the bill’s projected $3.3 trillion addition to the national deficit over the next decade, and moderate Republicans concerned about deep cuts to Medicaid and other safety net programs.
Despite those concerns, the GOP managed to secure enough support by early Thursday morning to overcome a major procedural hurdle, clearing the way for a final House vote later in the day.
