David Valadao Celebrates Cutting Healthcare, Supporting Skyrocketing Gas and Grocery Prices

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, September 30, 2026
Contact: press@villegasforcongress.com

David Valadao Celebrates Cutting Healthcare, Supporting Skyrocketing Gas and Grocery Prices, With Mike Johnson

Bakersfield, CA – Today, Speaker Mike Johnson is joining David Valadao in Bakersfield to give him a pat on the back for voting in line with Trump’s MAGA agenda that has made life more expensive for Valley families. Their celebration for cutting healthcare, raising grocery prices, and terrorizing immigrant and Latino families comes on the heels of Johnson declaring voters can expect more of the same – record-breaking prices for gas and diesel, cuts to healthcare and SNAP to benefit their donors who can afford $1,000 a plate fundraisers. 

Democratic candidate for California’s 22nd Congressional District, Randy Villegas, released the following statement: 

“Today, life in the Central Valley is more expensive because of David Valadao and Mike Johnson’s MAGA agenda. While Central Valley families are working to make ends meet and paying hundreds to fill up their gas tanks, Mike Johnson canceled votes so he could attend a thousand-dollar plate fundraiser with David Valadao. David Valadao cast the deciding vote to cut healthcare for hundreds of thousands of people here in the Valley in order to give tax breaks to billionaires and rich corporations, driving up costs for all of us. He supports chaotic tariff policy and a war in Iran that has made everything from groceries and gas more expensive. All while failing to stand up when Valley families were afraid to leave their homes because of rampant raids impacting everyone from our Dreamers to veterans, to all taxpaying U.S. citizens. We need a fighter in Congress who will stand up to leaders from both parties to do what’s right for working people. In Congress, my focus will always be on lowering costs, protecting healthcare access, tackling rampant corruption, and ensuring  billionaires pay their fair share.” 

Additional Background: 

• Valadao cast the deciding vote for the largest cut to Medicaid in history after repeatedly promising not to. His vote ripped away coverage from nearly 70,000 people in CA-22, the second highest Medicaid enrollment in the country, and the most of any House Republican. 

• Valadao’s vote threatened CA-22 hospitals now expecting to see more than $90 million in Medicaid revenue cuts. 

• Valadao backed the largest SNAP cuts in history, threatening food assistance for more than 60,000 households in his district with 1 in 4 families in CA-22 rely on food assistance every month.

• Valadao has now voted nine separate times to protect price-spiking tariff policy raising costs and wreaking chaos on Central Valley farmers, families, and businesses. 

• Valadao has also rubber-stamped the war in Iran and dismissed its impacts, which have driven up costs for fuel, fertilizer, equipment, and transportation.