U.S. Senator Mark Kelly on Social Security, SNAP and Medicaid cuts, and NASA

Between a recent town hall focused on Social Security and a new opinion piece in the New York Times on NASA, U.S. Senator Mark Kelly (D) has expressed concern over the direction of several aspects of the federal government under the Trump administration.

US Senator Mark Kelly joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss a variety of topics from Capitol Hill.

When it comes to President Trump and congressional Republicans’s recently passed One Big, Beautiful Bill, Senator Kelly is worried about the impacts that are coming for Arizonans with the bill’s changes to Medicaid. “Look at what the administration . . . has done on Medicaid,” Kelly said. “I mean just these drastic cuts that are going to leave 300,000 Arizonans over time without health insurance.”

Kelly also noted that when it came to SNAP, the government’s food assistance program, he had been hearing concerns from senior constitutions on if they would continue getting benefits. “There are a lot of seniors that receive some food assistance from SNAP,” Kelly said. “These folks are very concerned. I would say many of them are scared about their own personal futures.”

Kelly has concerns over another government assistance program facing changes under Trump: Social Security. When asked if firings had already occurred at the offices who manage the program, Kelly confirmed they had. “They’re firing people, they’re closing down the assistance centers where seniors can go when they need some help with the program accessing their benefits,”Kelly said.

“So already it’s, it’s hurting seniors and it’s making it hard for them to receive these earned benefits.”

As a former astronaut himself, Kelly is also focused on the US’s space programs and the management of NASA. He expressed that proposed staff cuts at the agency put scientific breakthroughs and even safety in space travel could be at risk. “When you lay off a large portion of your senior workforce, the experts, sure, a lot of things are compromised,” Kelly said. “The future of the agency is compromised, the future of scientific research and innovation safety could be compromised.”

“We’re getting ready to send astronauts around the moon in February of next year on the Artemis II mission. I’m concerned about their safety if we have a gutted NASA workforce.”