How Kentucky’s US representatives voted on Donald Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’
Congress just passed a massive budget bill extending tax cuts and cutting spending on Medicaid. Most of Kentucky’s representatives in Washington played a role in helping it pass.
While Kentucky’s two U.S. Senators were split on the bill — Rand Paul opposed it and and Mitch McConnell voted for it — four of the Bluegrass State’s six U.S. Representatives helped President Donald Trump in his push to get the bill passed.
The bill, dubbed by Trump the “Big, Beautiful Bill,” extends the tax cuts initially passed in 2017 across most tax brackets , primarily benefiting higher earners.
It also cuts spending to Medicaid, focusing energy on an added work requirement for certain enrollees; nonpartisan estimates of how many Americans might lose health insurance as a result span from 12 million to 17 million.
The bill also increases spending on national defense and border security, while cutting expenses on green energy and food benefits.
Here’s how all six of Kentucky’s members of the U.S. House of Representatives voted on the bill and what they’ve said about it.
Thomas Massie
After a long fight against the amount of national debt the bill is expected to add, 4th Congressional District Rep. Thomas Massie voted against the bill.
The Northern Kentucky congressman was one of just two Republicans of the House’s 220 to vote against the bill. Massie, who has long had a contrarian and libertarian streak, has been critical of the bill’s spending total.
“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 rate,” Massie wrote on X.
Joining him in voting no was Pennsylvania Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a swing-district moderate.
Massie’s refusal to go along with his Republican colleagues has earned him the ire of Trump.
Though Trump and Massie have a rocky history, Trump’s anger toward the Kentucky representative reached new heights last month when Massie became the leading GOP opposition to the Trump-ordered bombings of Iranian nuclear facilities.
His opposition to Trump’s massive budget bill has stoked that feud.
One anti-Massie ad, from a Trump-affiliated PAC, recently claiming Massie “sided with the ayatollah” of Iran in his opposition to the strikes. Trump suggested in one of his social media posts that he would visit the 4th Congressional District to support “a wonderful American Patriot running against him” in the May 2026 GOP primary.
“Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky is not MAGA, even though he likes to say he is,” Trump posted last week. “Actually, MAGA doesn’t want him, doesn’t know him, and doesn’t respect him.”
Andy Barr
Sixth Congressional District Rep. Andy Barr has been a strong public supporter of the bill from the start.
The Central Kentucky congressman has emphasized his support for extending the tax cuts contained in the bill, highlighting his belief that those continued cuts would prove “jet fuel” for the economy in an interview on CNN this week.
“Congress needs to recognize that 77 million Americans voted for this agenda and we need to make sure that we provide the economy, the jet fuel, it needs to raise wages for the American people.”
Barr’s exuberance comes as he is trying to tie himself closely to Trump in a new political endeavor: running for the U.S. Senate.
Trump’s support is seen by many as a potentially decisive factor, especially considering the president’s landslide victories in Kentucky over the course of his three presidential campaigns.
Morgan McGarvey
Morgan McGarvey, the state’s lone Democrat in Congress, voted no on the bill alongside all of his Democratic colleagues.
He cited the bill’s impact on Medicaid enrollees as a key reason for his opposition.
“It’s going to kick 133,000 of my rural neighbors off of their health insurance. It’s going to be absolutely devastating. They’re not serious about helping every American, they’re serious about helping the billionaire donors who fund their campaigns,” McGarvey said during an appearance on CNN.
As chief deputy whip, McGarvey said in a statement that he was whipping votes against the bill on Capitol Hill, including among Republicans.
McGarvey also had words for Vice President JD Vance, the tie-breaking vote on the legislation in the Senate, calling his support for it “particularly shameful” given his ties to rural Kentucky.
“He claims to have roots in Kentucky, to be from Kentucky, to be from Breathitt County. Well, guess what? The Breathitt County hospital there in Jackson is on the list of hospitals that will close. It will be his family that he talks about that will be impacted by that. He claims to be a populist but really he’s just an opportunist,” McGarvey said in the CNN appearance.
Brett Guthrie
Second Congressional District Congressman Brett Guthrie, who chairs the powerful and wide-ranging House Energy and Commerce Committee, focused his comments on the House floor on Medicaid spending. Guthrie voted for the bill.
He tried to push back on criticisms lobbed against the bill regarding its cuts to Medicaid spending.
“We claw back wasteful and unnecessary spending, we unleash affordable and reliable American energy,” Guthrie said. “And we secure Medicaid for those who need it most.”
Kentucky’s most powerful organization of healthcare providers, the Kentucky Hospital Association, has a different view. They supported the original House version of the bill that came out of Guthrie’s committee but say the latest version could have disastrous effects.
“The human toll that these sweeping reductions will have on one of the poorest and most health-challenged states is unfathomable,” association CEO Nancy Galvagni wrote in a letter to Congress, which is co-signed by 39 hospital systems. “Hospitals will have no choice but to eliminate services, such as obstetrics, mental health, cancer treatment, and emergency care.”
James Comer
First Congressional District James Comer, whose district covers far West Kentucky, a swath of South Central Kentucky and Franklin County, supported the bill.
He did say in an interview on Fox News, however, that he preferred the original House version of the bill.
“I personally like the House version better than the Senate version, but I understand the Senate is half the equation. We have to govern. At the end of the day, this is President Trump’s agenda, this is what he campaigned on and this is what the American people voted for,” Comer said.
Comer also highlighted the bill’s tax cuts for tips and social security income and pushed back on sharp criticism of the bill from Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, whom he called a “beta,” a slang term referring to a weak or passive person.
“I know our beta Gov. Andy Beshear has been giving a lot of videos saying this is a tax break for billionaires,” Comer said. “This is a tax break for working Americans. I don’t consider waitresses at our local restaurants or people on Social Security as billionaires, so this is a bill that significantly reduces taxes for every working American,” Comer said.
Comer, the state’s former commissioner of agriculture and a one-time gubernatorial candidate, is widely believed to be eyeing a run for the governor’s mansion in 2027.
Hal Rogers
Fifth Congressional District Rep. Hal Rogers, whose district covers most of Eastern Kentucky as well as parts of South Central Kentucky, voted for the bill.
He framed the cuts to Medicaid spending as “protecting” the program for those who need it most in a press statement on his vote.
“With 4.8 million able-bodied adults receiving Medicaid, who choose not to work, the bill enforces a 20-hour weekly work requirement for those individuals who do not have small kids. Without question, we are adding integrity and strength to Medicaid and SNAP assistance for those who need it most in the years ahead.” Rogers wrote.
Like Comer, Rogers said he would have preferred the original House version of the bill when it comes to its treatment of rural health providers. However, he pointed to a $50 billion fund to help those providers as well as opportunities for more advocacy going forward.
“Ultimately, this is not the end of our reconciliation work, and as a cardinal member of the House Appropriations Committee, I will continue working to improve funding options for our rural hospitals and clinics,” Rogers wrote.
Rogers’ newly minted Democratic opponent, Prestonsburg attorney Ned Pillersdorf, has tried to make his support of the bill a political issue. Pillersdorf said that voting for the bill amounts to a “betrayal” of the district’s constituents.
The 5th Congressional District is a relatively poor and uniquely Medicaid dependent district.
This story was originally published July 3, 2025 at 2:46 PM.
