Federal policies impact Minnesota’s progress
Federal policy decisions in areas from health care to nutrition to the environment have a real impact on Minnesotans’ daily lives. The federal government is also an important source of funding for public services provided at the state and local levels, and federal tax decisions influence our state tax system as well. Our federal work focuses on whether federal policies support or hinder Minnesota’s progress toward building a broader prosperity for all.
Resources on federal actions impacting Minnesota
The federal reconciliation bill (H.R. 1), signed into law on July 4, 2025, did a number of things that make meeting the needs of everyday people more difficult in Minnesota and states across the country. H.R. 1:
- Made unprecedented funding cuts to health care, food support, and other services Minnesotans count on to be healthy and get by;
- Shifted substantial responsibility for funding and delivering basic needs services to the states and counties;
- Enacted expensive tax cuts that gave the biggest benefits to high-income people; and
- Funded a massive expansion of the existing deportation and detention regime.
These federal budget decisions are flowing down to state, local and tribal governments, affecting families and communities across the country. In Minnesota, for example, the federal policy changes will eventually cost almost $2 billion in funding cuts to the state budget over the course of four years.
The first of many federal policy changes took effect in the fall of 2025, and policymakers, nonprofit and community organizations, and advocates have been preparing for how these funding cuts and policy changes are and will affect Minnesotans. We are compiling federal and state resources to stay informed and understand who will be impacted.
Publications
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Minnesota Budget Project weighs in on proposed federal Medicaid restrictions
August 14, 2026 • Jessie Luévano
Federal Issues, Health Care
The federal government recently proposed new restrictions that could cause health coverage loss for more Minnesotans under Medicaid work reporting requirements. During the public comment period where organizations and individuals could weigh in, the Minnesota Budget Project submitted the following letter.
Brief
Health coverage at risk for 128,000 Minnesotans subject to new Medicaid work reporting requirements
May 14, 2026 • Jessie Luévano
Federal Issues, Health Care
In Minnesota, roughly 1 million people have health care coverage through Medicaid, also known as Medical Assistance (MA).[1] Nationally, about… Continue reading Health coverage at risk for 128,000 Minnesotans subject to new Medicaid work reporting requirements
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More guns, less butter: How massive federal funding increases for ICE are costing us all
January 20, 2026 • Carly Eckstrom
Federal Budget, Federal Issues, Immigration
On July 4, 2025, President Donald Trump signed into law H.R. 1, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), which cut hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicaid and SNAP, our country’s core basic needs programs. These cuts paid primarily for two things: 1) a tax package that gives the biggest tax cuts to the nation’s wealthiest, and 2) an extreme spending increase on immigration enforcement.
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Federal Freeze of Child Care, TANF, other social service funding could leave Minnesotans and their families in the cold
January 15, 2026 • Carly Eckstrom
Child Care, Federal Budget, Federal Issues
On January 6, 2026, the Trump administration froze billions of dollars in federal funding for child care and social services… Continue reading Federal Freeze of Child Care, TANF, other social service funding could leave Minnesotans and their families in the cold
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Federal changes to SNAP mean more Minnesotans could go hungry and Minnesota will face new costs
November 5, 2025 • Carly Eckstrom
Federal Budget, Federal Issues
In legislation signed into law on July 4, 2025, Congressional Republicans chose to enact the largest cut to food benefits for very low-income people through SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly called Food Stamps), in its history. These drastic cuts to SNAP will increase poverty, food insecurity, and hunger, including among children.