SAVANNAH, Ga. - More than a thousand people gathered in downtown Savannah on Saturday to voice their opposition against the recent passage of the Big Beautiful Bill in Washington, D.C.

Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff led the event titled, ‘Rally for Our Republic.’

“They’ve destroyed Medicaid and defunded hospitals and added $4 trillion to the debt to cut taxes for the rich,” Sen. Ossoff said.

The bill was signed into law by President Trump on July 4, 2025, and includes no taxes on tips, an extension of the 2017 Trump tax cuts and more funding for the military and border security.

One of the biggest concerns from a lot of people at the rally on Saturday, following the signing of the law, is the cut to Medicaid funding that helps cover medical costs for some people with limited income and resources.

“I would like one of my Republican colleagues to explain why an American family has to pay $3,000 to ride an ambulance to the hospital or why they are canceling the programs that can make a difference for hardworking people in our state,” Ossoff said.

Representative Buddy Carter, who was chair of the health subcommittee that crafted the bill, says they made the program better.

“What we did is get rid of waste, fraud and abuse,” Carter said. “What we did is we made sure there are no illegals on Medicaid, that there are not going to be any ineligibles on Medicaid, that the states are going to check the roll twice a year to make sure that if you are not eligible anymore, you need to go to another plan.”

Ossoff says it hurts more Georgians than it helps.

“They are destroying the Medicaid program when 40% of all kids in Georgia are covered by Medicaid. 50% of all births in Georgia are covered by Medicaid, and 70% of all seniors in Georgia,” Ossoff said.

While Carter says it makes sure all eligible people who need Medicaid get it.

“What we did with the One Big Beautiful Bill is we made Medicaid better, we saved it, we sustained it, and we stabilized it,” Carter said.

Carter says that people will begin to see the impact of the new law pretty quickly.

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