Baumgartner’s Trillion-Dollar Betrayal
A week or so before increasing the federal deficit by trillions and throwing 12 million people off of Medicaid, Congressman Michael Baumgartner sent out a glossy, 8x10-inch, double-sided, full-color mailer. It prominently featured a photo of a beaming Congressman Baumgartner alongside Donald Trump, both smiling and giving a "thumbs up" in anticipation of passing the so-called Big Beautiful Bill. Such an extravagant piece of propaganda no doubt cost the taxpayers plenty. Together, they strike a disturbingly cheerful pose—united in their indifference to the people of Washington's Fifth Congressional District.
The “Big Beautiful Bill” made the 2017 Trump tax cuts permanent—cuts that disproportionately favored the wealthiest individuals and largest corporations. It added nearly $2 trillion to the national debt within its first decade. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, making those cuts permanent will add another $4 to $4.7 trillion to the deficit over the following ten years.
To partially offset this fiscal recklessness, the bill will impose deep and damaging cuts to our health care. The CBO projects that $1.1 trillion will be stripped from vital health programs like Medicaid, resulting in 11.8 million Americans losing coverage. These cuts will be particularly devastating for rural communities in our Fifth Congressional District, where access to care is already limited. We should anticipate the closure of local hospitals—facilities that are often the only source of emergency and specialty care for miles. That kind of policy isn’t just short-sighted—it’s cruel. It will deal a devastating blow to working families, seniors, and children across the country.
And the giveaways didn’t stop at tax breaks for the wealthy. Buried in the fine print of the legislation Baumgartner championed was $75 billion in new funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)—an astonishing 800% increase—to massively expand interior enforcement, detention facilities, and deportation operations. This is the same agency now terrorizing the people of Los Angeles with militarized raids and surveillance. And once ICE has rounded up all the Spanish-speaking immigrants and immigrants with darker skin, what then? Who’s next?
The people of Washington’s Fifth Congressional District deserve better than staged photo ops of Baumgartner and his new Bestie lying to the public. They deserve honest leadership—someone who tells the truth, defends their interests, and puts people over political theater. They deserve a Congressman who serves them, not one who grovels before an autocrat. Baumgartner had the chance to level with his constituents about the real cost of the “Big Beautiful Bill” but he failed to deliver.
We’re all outraged—let’s be heard. Call Congressman Baumgartner and let him know how betrayed you feel, and that you won’t forget come 2026. Support the Walla Walla County Democrats, attend meetings, volunteer, and back candidates who truly stand for working families. Change won’t come from glossy mailers—it comes from people like us, taking action together. Let’s make our voices heard and demand real representation.
Dr. Linda Gunshefski, Precinct Committee Officer, Abbott Precinct