Russell Payne

5 days ago | salon.com | Russell Payne

As Republicans hone the details of their plan to strip $880 billion in federal funding from Medicaid and similar programs, the GOP and its allies are launching a concerted effort aimed at obscuring those efforts. In the past few days, GOP-affiliated organizations have launched two new ad campaigns with the goal of convincing voters that Republicans aren’t doing the very thing that they’re currently doing: trying to cut Medicaid.

1 week ago | salon.com | Russell Payne

Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., a self-proclaimed moderate who won a swing district in 2024, had a 64-year-old social worker carried out of a town hall Sunday night, with the woman telling Salon that she believes she was targeted in an effort to chill dissent. Lawler received an icy reception at his latest town hall, much like the one he received at a public event held the previous week.

1 week ago | salon.com | Russell Payne

With congressional Republicans scheming up ways to slash hundreds of billions of dollars n in federal funding for Medicaid, those who have relied on the program are now sharing their stories, highlighting how the program fills critical gaps in the United States’ social safety net and saves lives. Earlier this year, House Republicans committed to cutting $880 billion from programs managed by the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

1 week ago | salon.com | Russell Payne

Abdul El-Sayed entered the race to be the next Democratic senator from Michigan earlier this month, earning an endorsement from Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and promising to drive universal health care back into the national political discussion. El-Sayed ran for governor of Michigan in 2018, losing in the Democratic primary against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

2 weeks ago | salon.com | Russell Payne

Earlier this week, Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., a self-described moderate Republican eyeing New York’s governorship, faced a hostile crowd and witnessed firsthand how the public is sourcing on the Trump administration. On Sunday, Lawler held the first of his series of in-person town halls. Though the representative has held call-in, virtual town halls previously, attendees who attempted to ask questions said that they were heavily screened and not representative of sentiment in the district.