Baldwin Says Trump Used Hungry Children As Political Pawns

Sen. Tammy Baldwin. Photo taken Nov. 12, 2025 by Graham Kilmer.

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin said President Donald Trump and Republicans are jeapardizing healthcare access for millions of Americans and using hungry children as pawns in the shutdown fight that roiled Washington, and national politics, for the past month.

The government shutdown has hinged on Democratic senators refusal to approve an appropriations bill that excluded funding for health insurance subsidies. The subsidies lower insurance premiums on plans available through the public marketplace created by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), often referred to as Obamacare for its passage under former President Barack Obama.

After the longest shutdown in U.S. history, eight Democrats broke with their party and joined Republicans to pass a bill to fund the government, with Baldwin voting no. The break came after the Trump administration refused to provide funding for food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

“He used hungry children and hungry families as political pawns,” Baldwin said during a press conference at Outreach Community Health Centers, 220 W. Capitol Drive.

As Baldwin spoke in Milwaukee, the House of Representatives was moving to vote on an appropriations bill excluding funding for enhanced premium tax credits for ACA marketplace health insurance plans. Once passed and signed by the president, the shutdown would be over.

The tax credits make health insurance more affordable for $22 million Americans, Baldwin said. If Congress does not reauthorize them, they will not be available for insurance plans in 2026. During the final vote in the Senate, Baldwin forced a vote on an amendment, alongside Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elissa Slotkin, that would have extended the subsidies for another year. Senate Republicans unanimously voted against the amendment, including Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson.

“And that is what is at the center of the government shutdown and debate in Washington D.C.,” Baldwin said. “We know the impact of taking away these tax breaks. For 275,000 Wisconsinites, their healthcare costs will double, triple, or even more.”

Thousands of Wisconsinites are expected to lose health insurance after premiums rise beyond their means. One resident on the verge of losing her health care joined Baldwin Wednesday.

Nancy Peske is self-employed; she provides editorial services like publishing consulting, editing and ghostwriting. She gets her health insurance through the marketplace. Two years ago, because of a mammogram covered by her ACA plan, she found out she had a rare form of metastatic breast cancer. She’s in remission now and at 63 is on the verge of losing her health insurance, with her premium set to triple next year.

“I cannot afford $1,165 a month, and I cannot afford to have my cancer come back,” Peske said. “It is stage three.”

Right now, without political change in Washington, Peske is having to consider shutting her business down and taking a low-wage job to become eligible for Medicaid.

“I think you want to keep people like me in business, generating money, adding to the economy,” Peske said. “And being able to to live and not die of cancer.”

Peske said she remembers the health insurance marketplace before the ACA and warned of the “premium death spiral” that could follow rising marketplace premiums. Insurance is a risk pool, and as more people drop out of the pool the risk goes up and prices rise.

“It’s not just my health insurance that’s going to go up. It’s everybody’s,” Peske said “We’re all in this together.”

Republican leadership in the Senate has promised Democrats a vote in December on the subsidies. It remains to be seen if they will honor the promise. But a bill will also need to be passed in the House and Speaker Mike Johnson has refused to guarantee a vote on the subsidies.

“That’s why I thought [the ACA subsidies] had to be attached to what we call a ‘must pass bill’,” Baldwin said.

The potential cuts to ACA subsidies would only add to the damage of the president’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which cut billions from Medicaid over the next decade, Baldwin said.

If Senate Democrats can secure passage of the subsidies it may provide the pressure needed to get the House to hold a vote, too, Baldwin said. The senator noted that the government funding resolution ending the shutdown expires on January 30.

“We’ll have another opportunity to play hardball then,” Baldwin said.