This summer, President Donald Trump has begun to chisel back Medicaid and food stamps. On a July day in 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed legislation into law that launched Medicaid, creating a health care safety net for millions of low-income Americans in one of the crowning achievements of his legacy. A year earlier, Johnson did the same for food stamps. But the Republican Party's recent tax and spending bill delivered not just $4.5 trillion in tax breaks but some of the most substantial changes to the landmark safety net programs in their history. Democrats say Republicans are ripping “food out of the mouths of children.” Local governments are scrambling to respond.

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FILE - President Lyndon B. Johnson uses the last of many pens to complete the signing of the Medicare Bill into law at the Truman Library in Independence, Missouri, July 30, 1965, with former President Harry S. Truman at his side. At rear are Lady Bird Johnson, Vice President Hubert Humphrey, and former first lady Bess Truman. (AP Photo, File)