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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Joanna Walters in New York

US budget chief calls fears that cuts to benefits will lead to deaths ‘totally ridiculous’

Russ Vought
Russ Vought, director of the office of management and budget (OMB) and a key figure in Project 2025. Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA

The White House budget director Russ Vought on Sunday dismissed as “totally ridiculous” fears expressed by voters that cuts to benefits in the huge spending bill passed by the House will lead to premature deaths in America.

Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill act, now awaiting debate in the US Senate, will slash two major federal safety net programs, Medicaid, which provides healthcare to poor and disabled Americans, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap), which helps people afford groceries, which will affect millions of people if it becomes law.

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