Congresswoman Frederica Wilson and national Democratic leaders blasted President Donald Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" this week during a tele-town hall that drew more than 60,000 people.
Wilson, D-Miami Gardens, said "this Big, Ugly Law is doing real damage to the communities I represent, including attacks on Americans access to healthcare, food assistance, and an education."
"We’re facing a national crisis with an administration pushing authoritarianism day-in and day-out," she said during Wednesday night's tele-town hall. "So, whether its litigation, legislation, protesting, or fighting fire with fire, we must fight back, and Democrats are ready to give it our all because this moment demands that we rise to the occasion.”
Trump signed into law his signature H.R. 1 legislation on July 4 with near unanimous support from Republicans, who control the House and Senate.
It provides for $4.5 trillion in tax breaks that were enacted in Trump’s first term and would have expired if Congress failed to act. New breaks will allow workers to deduct tips and overtime pay. There are $1.2 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and food stamps and a major rollback of green energy investments.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates the package will add $3.3 trillion to the deficit over the decade. The CBO also reports it will bring deep cuts to the nation’s safety net, leaving nearly 12 million more people without health coverage and millions of others without food assistance.
Wilson and Democrats around the country are holding rallies, voter registration drives, attack ads, bus tours and other events to highlight the most controversial elements of Trump’s legislation and drive home that message to voters before next year's mid-term elections.
On Friday, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, scheduled a public briefing in Broward County to talk about the legislation's impact in South Florida, along with other recent presidential executive orders issued by Trump. Other Democrats, including U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Miramar, state Rep. Marie Woodson, D-Hollywood, state Rep. Robin Bartleman, D-Weston, and state Rep. Daryl Campbell, D-Fort Lauderdale, will join her, along with Broward County Mayor Beam Furr.
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Wednesday night's tele-town-hall featured a roster of high-profile speakers, including former Secretary of Labor Julie Su, former Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, House Assistant Democratic Leader Joe Neguse, and Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee Jamie Raskin.
Former Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius warned that "in Florida alone, this bill will mean that 600,000 people will lose their health coverage."
"The paperwork challenges for both the Medicaid population and the Affordable Care Act population are extensive, and it’s designed to let people fall into big holes," Sebelius said.
Sui Chung, Executive Director of Americans for Immigrant Justice, said the new law is pouring more than $100 billion into immigration enforcement and detention.
She said many immigrant families have been "changing daily routines, avoiding public spaces and their children’s schools, and even hesitating to seek necessary medical care" in the wake of Trump's aggressive deportation strategy.
Angela Rye, who moderated the event and is co-host of The Native Land podcast, slammed the Trump administration’s policies, saying Trump and his fellow Republicans were taking the country back in time.
“I did not realize how close to Jim Crow we would be in 2025, but thanks to Project 2025 and all of its implementations, more than 60% so far, we are where we are — the fight continues,” she said.
Maryland Democratic Congressman Jamie Raskin, the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, called Trump an "authoritarian" president who is taking after other dictators around the world.
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“It’s getting pretty authoritarian out there, with Trump ordering troops into the Capital City, appeasing dictators like [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, [Hungary Prime Minister Viktor] Orbán, [China's President Xi Jinping] and [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan, and sending masked men in unmarked cars to disappear our neighbors without warrants,” he said. “During this tense moment in history, solidarity and vigilance will be our watchwords."
Congresswoman Wilson urged those tuning in to the tele-town hall to call Republican members of Congress, Republican Senators, and the White House "to apply pressure and express their discontent with the administration."
She shared the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate Switchboard number, 202-224-3121. And the White House Comment Line telephone number: 202-456-1111.
The tele-town hall can be viewed here.
