Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) reacted to Congress passing President Donald Trump’s so-called “big, beautiful bill” with a passionate speech on the steps of Capitol Hill.
“I think this is one of the saddest days in modern American history,” the congresswoman told reporters on Thursday, after the mega-bill passed the House, clearing the way for it to head to Trump’s desk.
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The bill will drastically slash Medicaid and food assistance while handing major tax cuts for the wealthy. It also supercharges the budget of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Trump signed it into law on the Fourth of July.
“People are going to go hungry,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “People are going to get sick. On a scale unlike anything we’ve ever seen. And all of it is just to finance tax cuts for billionaires and the wealthiest corporations who don’t even need it.”
She added, “I don’t think we’ve ever seen or are prepared for how catastrophic this is set to be.”
On social media, the representative warned of the consequences of the eye-popping $170 billion the bill allocates for immigration and border enforcement.
“It is setting up to make what’s happening now look like child’s play,” she wrote.
