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The National Republican Campaign Committee released a statement last Thursday praising Rep. David Valadao’s vote in favor of President Donald Trump’s contentious Big Beautiful Bill to restructure federal taxes and health care spending, which was passed by the House of Representatives just minutes before.
“David Valadao just voted to pass historic legislation that lowers taxes, boosts economic growth, strengthens essential benefits, and restores law and order in California,” the NRCC said, marking a significant victory for Californians.
According to NRCC spokesman Christian Martinez, Congressman David Valadao is fulfilling his promises to fight for California families, restore budgetary sanity, and produce tangible results. His vote is evidence that common sense and capable leadership are still important in Washington.
A few hours later, the health care advocacy group Protect Our Care California, which has strong connections to Democratic Party leaders, declared that it will run video advertisements attacking Valadao and nine other Republican members of Congress for their votes.
Matthew Herdman, director of Protect Our Care California, stated, “We’re going to make sure that every single one of their constituents knows that Representative David Valadao just voted for the largest health care cuts in history in order to fund tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations.”
Valadao and other Republican members of California’s congressional delegation, such as Young Kim and Ken Calvert, are targeted by the advertisements because they are thought to be the most vulnerable incumbents as the two major parties fight for control of the House in the next elections.
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The final vote on Trump’s high-priority bill, which ended 218–214, showed that Republicans have a razor-thin House majority, while Valadao, Kim, and Calvert barely made it through previous tests. After losing his seat in Congress in 2018, Valadao won it again in 2020. In 2022 and 2024, he was able to repel Democrat Rudy Salas.
Next year’s events in the three targeted districts could easily decide which party wins, with potentially significant ramifications for Trump’s remaining two years in office.
Given that two-thirds of his constituents depend on Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid, for their medical care, that Democrats outnumber Republicans by 12 percentage points in the 22nd Congressional District of the San Joaquin Valley, and that he has consistently pledged not to vote for any cuts to the program, Valadao’s support of the bill is particularly noteworthy.
The editorial page of The Fresno Bee swiftly chastised him for ostensibly breaking that promise in response to pressure from Trump.
The editorial board of The Bee stated that Rep. David Valadao, who stands six feet four inches tall, can make a huge impression in Washington, D.C. Regretfully, he falls short when it comes to considering what is best for his community.
The editorial went on to say that the Senate version of the plan, which was ultimately passed, would raise the number of uninsured individuals by 11.8 million and decrease federal Medicaid expenditure by $1 trillion over ten years, according to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan organization.
How could Valadao have changed his mind in just five days? He went to the White House on Wednesday, for starters. Details of the reunion were not disclosed by his office, but Trump has used these gatherings to compel hesitant lawmakers to follow his wishes rather than the wishes of the people.
According to Valadao, the White House assured him that the Medicaid cuts will be crafted to favor our providers and maintain the operations of our hospitals and communities.
Being conscious of his tenuous hold on the office, Valadao has always emphasized his independence; in fact, during his first term as president, he was one of just ten Republicans to vote to impeach Trump.
Valadao’s support of Trump’s bill, however, erodes that independent image and will most likely be used as a weapon when Democrats attempt to win his seat again the next year.
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