Biden, Democrats slam passage of Trump's 'cruel' megabill: 'Working people deserve better'

Former President Joe Biden and other prominent Democrats voiced opposition to the House passing President Donald Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" on Thursday, which will now be sent to the White House for the president's signature. 

The House of Representatives passed the megabill in a 218-214 vote. The passage marked a significant achievement for House Speaker Mike Johnson and Trump, who corralled Republican hardliners all day Wednesday in order to get the necessary support.

Multiple Congressional Democrats took to social media to slam the legislation and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries gave an eight-hour address on Thursday to stall the final vote. Jeffries lambasted the bill as "cruel" and "ugly" in his speech instead of "beautiful" as Republicans, including Trump, have called it.

“What is contemplated in this one big, ugly bill is wrong," Jeffries claimed. "It’s dangerous, and it’s cruel, and cruelty should not be either the objective or the outcome of legislation that we consider here in the United States House of Representatives." 

Biden echoed Jeffries' sentiment of the legislation being "cruel," stating in a post on X that Americans deserved "better" than what was passed in the massive bill.

"The Republican budget bill is not only reckless — it’s cruel," Biden insisted. "It slashes Medicaid and takes away health care from millions of Americans. It closes rural hospitals and cuts food assistance for our veterans and seniors. It jacks up energy bills. And it could trigger deep cuts to Medicare while driving up the deficit by $4 trillion. 

"All of this to give a massive tax break to billionaires," he continued. "Working people deserve better."

Cardinal Robert McElroy, the archbishop of Washington D.C., also criticized the bill as detrimental to working class Americans.

“There’s something radically wrong with a society that takes from the poorest to give to the wealthiest. It’s just wrong,” McElroy told CNN on Tuesday.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin additionally warned that Americans would "die" as a result of the massive funding bill, and vowed to make sure voters knew who was responsible.

“This massive scheme to steal from working families, children, and seniors will devastate communities in blue and red states alike," Martin said in a statement reported by NBC News. "We know the numbers: 17 million Americans will lose health care, over 5 million will lose food assistance, and millions will lose their jobs. But we must also know the stories: Had this bill passed when I was growing up, I would not be here today." 

The criticism comes as two Republicans, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, also voted against the bill, which extends tax cuts and reduces funding for Medicaid. 

"Although there were some conservative wins in the budget reconciliation bill, I voted No on final passage because it will significantly increase U.S. budget deficits in the near term, negatively impacting all Americans through sustained inflation and high interest rates," Massie said in a post to X. 

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.