Michael Whatley and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act: His Push for the Law and North Carolina's Medicaid and SNAP Losses

Michael Whatley, the Republican running for U.S. Senate in North Carolina, championed a law that cuts federal health spending by more than $1 trillion and leaves 10 million more people uninsured, by the Congressional Budget Office estimate KFF reports. As chair of the Republican National Committee he called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act a "huge win for all Americans!" on July 3, 2025, and in June 2025 he called North Carolina Senate leader Phil Berger and asked him to support the bill publicly, according to the News & Observer.

Whatley told Fox News Digital the law "is the embodiment" of the Republican agenda and would be the "cornerstone" of party messaging. His campaign said in September 2025 that he stands by the bill's Medicaid cuts and work requirements.

In North Carolina, the law puts the state's Medicaid expansion, which had 650,000 enrollees in April 2025, at risk, adds work requirements starting January 1, 2027, and shifts SNAP costs to counties and the state starting in October 2026, according to the state's own estimates.

Michael Whatley's Statements and Actions for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

• Whatley Asked North Carolina's Senate Leader to Back the Bill in June 2025. While the bill was before the U.S. Senate, Michael Whatley phoned North Carolina Senate leader Phil Berger and asked him to support it publicly; Berger posted his support on June 28, 2025, as Senator Thom Tillis prepared to vote against it, the News & Observer reported (paywalled). The News & Observer reported that the law has put more than half a million people in North Carolina at risk of losing health coverage.
• Whatley Called the Final Bill a Huge Win in July 2025. On July 3, 2025, the day the House passed the final version, Whatley posted that the bill was a "huge win for all Americans!" (North Carolina Independent). That endorsement covers every provision, including what the North Carolina Independent describes as $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts over 10 years.
• Whatley Said the Law Would Strengthen Medicaid and SNAP by Taking People Off. On July 8, 2025, Whatley said the bill would strengthen Medicaid and SNAP "by taking people who should not be on the programs off the programs," The National News Desk reported. In fiscal 2024, SNAP reached 1,415,600 North Carolinians.
• Whatley Called the Law the Cornerstone of the Party's 2026 Message. On July 16, 2025, Whatley said of the law, "It's our agenda," and "This bill is the embodiment of that agenda," in an interview with Fox News Digital.
• Whatley's Campaign Said He Stands by the Medicaid Cuts and Work Requirements. On September 19, 2025, a Whatley campaign spokesman said Whatley stands by the bill, including the cuts it made to Medicaid and new work requirements, WRAL reported.
• Whatley Said the Law Would Move Immigrants Off Medicaid, but Unlawful Immigrants Were Never Eligible. Whatley told Fox News Digital in July 2025 that "we're going to be moving illegal aliens off of Medicaid" (Fox News). WRAL reported that no one in the country unlawfully is eligible to enroll in Medicaid.

What the One Big Beautiful Bill Act Michael Whatley Backed Means for North Carolina

• Health care: 650,000 North Carolinians could lose Medicaid expansion coverage. North Carolina's expansion law ends the program if federal funding drops, and its more than 650,000 enrollees would lose coverage if the program ends; Tillis's office estimated North Carolina would lose $32 billion in federal funding over a decade, the Guardian reported.
• Health care: Work requirements start in North Carolina on January 1, 2027. Most North Carolina Medicaid adults ages 19 through 64 will need to earn $580 a month or log 80 hours of work, school or volunteering, or may lose coverage for doctors, prescriptions and mental health care.
• Health care: Five North Carolina rural hospitals were listed at risk of closing. A UNC Sheps Center analysis listed five North Carolina hospitals among 338 rural hospitals at risk of closing under the Medicaid cuts, WRAL reported.
• Food assistance: North Carolina counties lose $69 million a year in SNAP administrative funding. Starting October 2026 the federal share of SNAP administrative costs drops from 50% to 25%, costing North Carolina counties an estimated $69 million and the state $16 million a year, according to the state project portal.
• Food assistance: North Carolina faces up to $420 million a year in SNAP benefit costs. From October 2027, states with high SNAP error rates pay up to 15% of benefits, a risk North Carolina puts as high as $420 million a year.
• Medicare: Higher costs for some cancer drugs. The law's change to the orphan drug exclusion delays Medicare price negotiation for drugs including Keytruda and Opdivo and adds $8.8 billion in Medicare spending, according to CBO figures reported by KFF, which projects higher out-of-pocket costs for people with Medicare.

Frequently Asked Questions Michael Whatley on One Big Beautiful Bill

Last updated: 2026-10-28

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