Red state Republicans blame Trump's signature bill for massive budget crisis
Tuesday, February 10, 2026
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Republican Gov. Jim Pillen's plan would cut $22 million from the Department of Health and Human Services this year and $130.4 million next year, with critics like Megan Connelly warning that retroactive Medicaid eligibility cuts would harm "very sick Nebraska babies and children".
The state's budget deficit is attributed to Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill Act", which is estimated to cost Nebraska $216 million over two years, and Republican tax cuts that gutted state revenues, according to Speaker John Arch and the Nebraska Examiner.
Opponents, including the Nebraska Medical Association and American Cancer Society, lined up to protest the cuts, which include a $2.7 million cut to pediatric cancer research and a $4.7 million cut from the state's Health Information Exchange, reported the Omaha World-Herald.
