TF
TruthOrFake
Fact Check: Democrat Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) says the death toll from Trump's policies is now “estimated to be in the multiple millions

Fact Check: Democrat Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) says the death toll from Trump's policies is now “estimated to be in the multiple millions

Published July 28, 2025
ByFactChecker 1.1 avatarFactChecker 1.1
✗
VERDICT
False

# Fact-Check: "Democrat Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) says the death toll from Trump's policies is now 'estimated to be in the multiple millions'" ## W...

Advertisement
NordVPN - Explore the internet securely and privately

Secure your internet browsing withNordVPN's trusted protection

Fact-Check: "Democrat Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) says the death toll from Trump's policies is now 'estimated to be in the multiple millions'"

What We Know

The claim that Senator Jeff Merkley stated the death toll from Trump's policies is “estimated to be in the multiple millions” appears to originate from a social media post that lacks context and verification. The original statement by Merkley, as reported in various sources, primarily critiques the American Health Care Act (AHCA), also known as "Trumpcare," which he argued would lead to millions losing health care coverage and potentially result in life-threatening situations for many Americans (Merkley: CBO Score Sounds the Alarm).

In his statements, Merkley emphasized the risks associated with the AHCA, citing a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report that projected 24 million Americans could lose their health insurance. He did not quantify this loss in terms of deaths but rather highlighted the potential for increased health risks due to lack of access to care.

Moreover, while there have been discussions about the impact of halted USAID programs and other policies leading to significant mortality estimates (e.g., a 2025 report estimating 367,000 deaths), these figures are not directly attributed to Merkley’s statements regarding Trump's policies.

Analysis

The claim in question lacks direct attribution to Senator Merkley. The source of the claim appears to be a social media post that does not provide a reliable context or citation. The official statements from Merkley regarding Trump's policies focus on the implications of health care legislation rather than a specific death toll in the millions.

Furthermore, the estimates of deaths related to halted programs or budget cuts mentioned in other sources (BU researcher warns of 367,000 deaths, Dem senator accuses top Trump official) do not support the claim of "multiple millions" and are not directly linked to Merkley's statements. These figures are often contested and require careful interpretation, as they can be based on various assumptions and methodologies.

The reliability of the sources that propagate this claim is questionable, particularly the social media context, which often lacks rigorous fact-checking. In contrast, the CBO report and Merkley's official statements are grounded in legislative analysis and public discourse, making them more credible.

Conclusion

Verdict: False
The claim that Senator Jeff Merkley stated the death toll from Trump's policies is “estimated to be in the multiple millions” is misleading. Merkley has not made such a statement, and the context of his critiques focuses on health care access and risks rather than a quantified death toll. The figures discussed in other contexts do not support the claim and are not attributed to Merkley directly.

Sources

  1. Merkley: CBO Score Sounds the Alarm – Life-and-Death Care at Risk for Millions
  2. BU researcher warns of 367,000 deaths from halted USAID programs
  3. Merkley Exposes Trump's Authoritarian Takeover
  4. Jeff Merkley warns of strongman state under Donald Trump
  5. Dem senator accuses top Trump official of being responsible for hundreds of thousands of children dying
  6. Wake Up America on X: "Democrat Senator Jeff Merkley says ..."
Advertisement
NordVPN - Explore the internet securely and privately

Secure your internet browsing withNordVPN's trusted protection

Have a claim you want to verify? It's 100% Free!

Our AI-powered fact-checker analyzes claims against thousands of reliable sources and provides evidence-based verdicts in seconds. Completely free with no registration required.

💡 Try:
"Coffee helps you live longer"
✓100% Free
✓No Registration
✓Instant Results

Comments

Leave a comment

Loading comments...

More Fact Checks to Explore

Discover similar claims and stay informed with these related fact-checks

Fact Check: "Why didn't Biden release the Epstein files?" The Epstein records were sealed by a judge until after Ghislaine Maxwell's trial. They weren't unsealed until January 2024. So no, Biden couldn't release what wasn't legally available. Biden didn't run a cult. He He let the DOJ operate independently y-unlike Trump, who demands loyalty oaths and treats every agency like his personal operatives. And no Democrat ran on a platform promising to release the Epstein files. Trump did. Then blocked them.
True
🎯 Similar

Fact Check: "Why didn't Biden release the Epstein files?" The Epstein records were sealed by a judge until after Ghislaine Maxwell's trial. They weren't unsealed until January 2024. So no, Biden couldn't release what wasn't legally available. Biden didn't run a cult. He He let the DOJ operate independently y-unlike Trump, who demands loyalty oaths and treats every agency like his personal operatives. And no Democrat ran on a platform promising to release the Epstein files. Trump did. Then blocked them.

Detailed fact-check analysis of: "Why didn't Biden release the Epstein files?" The Epstein records were sealed by a judge until after Ghislaine Maxwell's trial. They weren't unsealed until January 2024. So no, Biden couldn't release what wasn't legally available. Biden didn't run a cult. He He let the DOJ operate independently y-unlike Trump, who demands loyalty oaths and treats every agency like his personal operatives. And no Democrat ran on a platform promising to release the Epstein files. Trump did. Then blocked them.

Jul 28, 2025
Read more →
🔍
Partially True
🎯 Similar

Fact Check: Transcript 00:00 For all of their strutting about protesting that they support democracy. Not a one of them gave a damn about democracy when they pulled Biden off the ballot and dropped Kamala Harris in without a single Democrat primary voter voting for him. And you know what? Not a single Democrat is here today because not a single one of them gives a damn about the fact that they lied to the American people for four years. They knew Every one of them knew that Joe Biden was 00:34 mentally not competent to do the job. The White House Press Secretary. She knew when she stood in front of the American people and lied over and over and over again and they're not here because they can't defend themselves. It wasn't a surprise for four years the White House hid President Biden from Republican Senators. Would not let him meet with us. He served 40 years in this body. We all know him. And they deliberately lied and by the way Jake Tapper had a bombshell 01:08 book exposing the incredible scandal that Biden's mental decline was covered up by Jake Tapper. There's a Yiddish word and that truly is how dare we lie and cover up what we all knew. Now I have been asked literally a thousand times by Texans. Was running the country? And I'm going to give 01:40 you the most terrifying answer. I don't know. I genuinely don't know. And not a single Democrat here cares. The most telling proof of Biden's decline came with the signature of the president. The symbol of executive authority that was outsourced to a machine. Mister Wald you're a lawyer who served in the White House Council's Office. You understand the gravity of presidential action. Does the president's signature 02:10 carry legal and constitutional weight under article two? Yes. Is the act of signing an executive order or signing a law or granting a pardon a delegable duty of the president. Uh so in that opinion in 2005 from OLC they said essentially that an autopin could be used by a subordinate but the president's determination as to sign the document can never be delegated. Can that authority 02:41 be transferred to a staff or a machine without the president's explicit authorization? Never. And if you look at the statistics, the statistics are stunning. In 2021, President Biden issued 78 executive orders. None were signed with an auto pen. That first year the presidency, Biden I suppose was relatively lucid and 78 executive orders he signed by hand. The second year, however, we see the auto pen emerged. 03:15 The first auto pen executive order was issued on 15th 2022. After that day 100% of the executive orders issued in 2022 were signed by an autopen. In 2023 Biden issued twenty-four executive orders. 16 were auto penned. In 20twenty-four Biden issued 19. 14 were auto penned. In twenty twenty-5 Biden issued fourteen executive orders every single one was auto pins. 03:52 Mister Wald let me ask you as a legal matter if there's a law that's passed both houses of Congress and it goes to the White House and a staffer autopins signing that law without the president's authorization is that law legally passed and signed in the law? No. If an executive order is issued and a staffer autopins it without the president's authorization, is that executive order legally binding? No. And if a pardon issued from the President of 04:22 the United States and a staffer auto pens it without the president's authorization. Is that pardon legally binding? No. Under the Biden White House the ceremonial song hailed to the chief was effectively replaced with hail to the pen and it was an outright assault on democracy and every reporter covering this ought to ask why doesn't a Democrat care? We heard about the moral responsibilities of a staffer. 04:54 How about an elected senator who knows damn well that if we get into a war and Iran is preparing to fire a nuclear weapon at the United States that the commander in chief is busy playing with his jello and he's not competent to defend ourselves and every member of the cabinet, the chief of staff, the press secretary, and the members of Congress who lied about this on a daily basis with the press's complicity. They are all responsible for subverting democracy. Angry Ted Cruz is perhaps my favorite version of 05:27 Ted Cruz because when he's getting history on it, you might want to take a listen. He is definitely angry that there's some acting going on here in the line of hail to the chief change from hail to the pen that's not a smart line but it's still the truth. The truth is in this video right here ladies and gentlemen. The change in the way Joe Biden used the autopin is a steady upward moving graph from twenty twenty-one to the end of his presidency in early twenty 05:58 twenty-five. Okay? That is a noticeable issue. And if he does not directly authorize the autopin we've got We've got grounds to go through every single law Joe Biden has signed that way and perhaps ignore them all together. There's way more evidence behind the autopin theory and hopefully it ends up sticking. I I hope it does because I think this is in a way worse than the Bill Clinton perjury case. Cuz Bill 06:28 Clinton basically lied before Congress lied directly to the American people lied under oath. This is worse in a way. Because lying under oath means that you know where the truth is and you're just hoping to get away with it and there's a direct law. This however Signing with the auto pin is more opaque. It is an ultimate he said she said and you're dont rate the opinion oo just fact if there is

Detailed fact-check analysis of: Transcript 00:00 For all of their strutting about protesting that they support democracy. Not a one of them gave a damn about democracy when they pulled Biden off the ballot and dropped Kamala Harris in without a single Democrat primary voter voting for him. And you know what? Not a single Democrat is here today because not a single one of them gives a damn about the fact that they lied to the American people for four years. They knew Every one of them knew that Joe Biden was 00:34 mentally not competent to do the job. The White House Press Secretary. She knew when she stood in front of the American people and lied over and over and over again and they're not here because they can't defend themselves. It wasn't a surprise for four years the White House hid President Biden from Republican Senators. Would not let him meet with us. He served 40 years in this body. We all know him. And they deliberately lied and by the way Jake Tapper had a bombshell 01:08 book exposing the incredible scandal that Biden's mental decline was covered up by Jake Tapper. There's a Yiddish word and that truly is how dare we lie and cover up what we all knew. Now I have been asked literally a thousand times by Texans. Was running the country? And I'm going to give 01:40 you the most terrifying answer. I don't know. I genuinely don't know. And not a single Democrat here cares. The most telling proof of Biden's decline came with the signature of the president. The symbol of executive authority that was outsourced to a machine. Mister Wald you're a lawyer who served in the White House Council's Office. You understand the gravity of presidential action. Does the president's signature 02:10 carry legal and constitutional weight under article two? Yes. Is the act of signing an executive order or signing a law or granting a pardon a delegable duty of the president. Uh so in that opinion in 2005 from OLC they said essentially that an autopin could be used by a subordinate but the president's determination as to sign the document can never be delegated. Can that authority 02:41 be transferred to a staff or a machine without the president's explicit authorization? Never. And if you look at the statistics, the statistics are stunning. In 2021, President Biden issued 78 executive orders. None were signed with an auto pen. That first year the presidency, Biden I suppose was relatively lucid and 78 executive orders he signed by hand. The second year, however, we see the auto pen emerged. 03:15 The first auto pen executive order was issued on 15th 2022. After that day 100% of the executive orders issued in 2022 were signed by an autopen. In 2023 Biden issued twenty-four executive orders. 16 were auto penned. In 20twenty-four Biden issued 19. 14 were auto penned. In twenty twenty-5 Biden issued fourteen executive orders every single one was auto pins. 03:52 Mister Wald let me ask you as a legal matter if there's a law that's passed both houses of Congress and it goes to the White House and a staffer autopins signing that law without the president's authorization is that law legally passed and signed in the law? No. If an executive order is issued and a staffer autopins it without the president's authorization, is that executive order legally binding? No. And if a pardon issued from the President of 04:22 the United States and a staffer auto pens it without the president's authorization. Is that pardon legally binding? No. Under the Biden White House the ceremonial song hailed to the chief was effectively replaced with hail to the pen and it was an outright assault on democracy and every reporter covering this ought to ask why doesn't a Democrat care? We heard about the moral responsibilities of a staffer. 04:54 How about an elected senator who knows damn well that if we get into a war and Iran is preparing to fire a nuclear weapon at the United States that the commander in chief is busy playing with his jello and he's not competent to defend ourselves and every member of the cabinet, the chief of staff, the press secretary, and the members of Congress who lied about this on a daily basis with the press's complicity. They are all responsible for subverting democracy. Angry Ted Cruz is perhaps my favorite version of 05:27 Ted Cruz because when he's getting history on it, you might want to take a listen. He is definitely angry that there's some acting going on here in the line of hail to the chief change from hail to the pen that's not a smart line but it's still the truth. The truth is in this video right here ladies and gentlemen. The change in the way Joe Biden used the autopin is a steady upward moving graph from twenty twenty-one to the end of his presidency in early twenty 05:58 twenty-five. Okay? That is a noticeable issue. And if he does not directly authorize the autopin we've got We've got grounds to go through every single law Joe Biden has signed that way and perhaps ignore them all together. There's way more evidence behind the autopin theory and hopefully it ends up sticking. I I hope it does because I think this is in a way worse than the Bill Clinton perjury case. Cuz Bill 06:28 Clinton basically lied before Congress lied directly to the American people lied under oath. This is worse in a way. Because lying under oath means that you know where the truth is and you're just hoping to get away with it and there's a direct law. This however Signing with the auto pin is more opaque. It is an ultimate he said she said and you're dont rate the opinion oo just fact if there is

Jul 27, 2025
Read more →
Fact Check: Transcript 00:00 I cannot believe that Trump is cutting Medicaid. Actually, what I meant to say is that I can't believe he's not cutting more of it because medicaid is a money laundering scheme for your government. Congratulations all you bleeding heart democrats. Instead of raging against the machine, you're bending over for it. Medicaid is jointly run by the states and the feds and for every one dollar that your state allocates to the program, the Feds turn around and match that at a level of one 00 percent so one dollar up to nine dollars. And this money comes from taxpayers in other 00:34 states. Your money has a 900% return rate at someone else's expense. Why wouldn't you expand the program? Thanks Obama. That's exactly how we wound up with way too many Medicaid recipients in the first place. Like everything related to healthcare the providers are in bed with the government on this one too because the government can tax the providers. 1. Use that dollar to collect the up to nine dollars in federal funds and to reimburse the provider their original dollar. What? Robbing the taxpayer to pad the funding pool leading to increase reimbursements for 01:06 Medicaid for the providers. Yeah, if I'm a doctor or a health care facility, I'm saying sign me up to that. Yes, the medical industrial complex totally has your best interest in mind so go ahead and swallow up those vaccines like a good little comrade. Age me harder daddy. And speaking of comrades, do you know how many people in this country receive Medicaid that shouldn't? Before you start screaming, everyone should get free health care. Not the argument here. We do not have universal health care in the United States. It doesn't work and since we don't have it, that means someone is paying for it and guess what? There are lower-income families 01:37 who don't qualify for the benefits but they're taxpayers and they're being burdened by this. Back to the point which is that the system is insanely abused. I used to do child support referee work for years and you would v
Partially True
🎯 Similar

Fact Check: Transcript 00:00 I cannot believe that Trump is cutting Medicaid. Actually, what I meant to say is that I can't believe he's not cutting more of it because medicaid is a money laundering scheme for your government. Congratulations all you bleeding heart democrats. Instead of raging against the machine, you're bending over for it. Medicaid is jointly run by the states and the feds and for every one dollar that your state allocates to the program, the Feds turn around and match that at a level of one 00 percent so one dollar up to nine dollars. And this money comes from taxpayers in other 00:34 states. Your money has a 900% return rate at someone else's expense. Why wouldn't you expand the program? Thanks Obama. That's exactly how we wound up with way too many Medicaid recipients in the first place. Like everything related to healthcare the providers are in bed with the government on this one too because the government can tax the providers. 1. Use that dollar to collect the up to nine dollars in federal funds and to reimburse the provider their original dollar. What? Robbing the taxpayer to pad the funding pool leading to increase reimbursements for 01:06 Medicaid for the providers. Yeah, if I'm a doctor or a health care facility, I'm saying sign me up to that. Yes, the medical industrial complex totally has your best interest in mind so go ahead and swallow up those vaccines like a good little comrade. Age me harder daddy. And speaking of comrades, do you know how many people in this country receive Medicaid that shouldn't? Before you start screaming, everyone should get free health care. Not the argument here. We do not have universal health care in the United States. It doesn't work and since we don't have it, that means someone is paying for it and guess what? There are lower-income families 01:37 who don't qualify for the benefits but they're taxpayers and they're being burdened by this. Back to the point which is that the system is insanely abused. I used to do child support referee work for years and you would v

Detailed fact-check analysis of: Transcript 00:00 I cannot believe that Trump is cutting Medicaid. Actually, what I meant to say is that I can't believe he's not cutting more of it because medicaid is a money laundering scheme for your government. Congratulations all you bleeding heart democrats. Instead of raging against the machine, you're bending over for it. Medicaid is jointly run by the states and the feds and for every one dollar that your state allocates to the program, the Feds turn around and match that at a level of one 00 percent so one dollar up to nine dollars. And this money comes from taxpayers in other 00:34 states. Your money has a 900% return rate at someone else's expense. Why wouldn't you expand the program? Thanks Obama. That's exactly how we wound up with way too many Medicaid recipients in the first place. Like everything related to healthcare the providers are in bed with the government on this one too because the government can tax the providers. 1. Use that dollar to collect the up to nine dollars in federal funds and to reimburse the provider their original dollar. What? Robbing the taxpayer to pad the funding pool leading to increase reimbursements for 01:06 Medicaid for the providers. Yeah, if I'm a doctor or a health care facility, I'm saying sign me up to that. Yes, the medical industrial complex totally has your best interest in mind so go ahead and swallow up those vaccines like a good little comrade. Age me harder daddy. And speaking of comrades, do you know how many people in this country receive Medicaid that shouldn't? Before you start screaming, everyone should get free health care. Not the argument here. We do not have universal health care in the United States. It doesn't work and since we don't have it, that means someone is paying for it and guess what? There are lower-income families 01:37 who don't qualify for the benefits but they're taxpayers and they're being burdened by this. Back to the point which is that the system is insanely abused. I used to do child support referee work for years and you would v

Jul 27, 2025
Read more →
Fact Check: Trump's New Strategy on Epstein Fallout: Blame the Democrats President Trump said the outrage among his supporters over the Epstein case was just the latest "scam" cooked up by Democrats.
True

Fact Check: Trump's New Strategy on Epstein Fallout: Blame the Democrats President Trump said the outrage among his supporters over the Epstein case was just the latest "scam" cooked up by Democrats.

Detailed fact-check analysis of: Trump's New Strategy on Epstein Fallout: Blame the Democrats President Trump said the outrage among his supporters over the Epstein case was just the latest "scam" cooked up by Democrats.

Jul 26, 2025
Read more →
🔍
Partially True

Fact Check: Radical Democrats aim to incite violence to seize power from Trump.

Detailed fact-check analysis of: Radical Democrats aim to incite violence to seize power from Trump.

Jul 15, 2025
Read more →
Fact Check: 173 Nations Just Granted Expanded Powers to the WHO While public attention was elsewhere, representatives from 173 countries voted to significantly expand the authority of the World Health Organization (WHO) over national health policies, border decisions, and personal freedoms. Under these new agreements, when the WHO declares a "global health emergency," it will no longer need to seek approval from individual governments to enforce its directives. Your nation has already committed to following their lead. This could include: Border shutdowns Lockdowns Mass vaccination efforts Digital health ID systems All potentially initiated by unelected figures such as WHO Directo General Tedros Ghebreyesus or influential private actors like Bill Gates-without any democratic input from the citizens who will b
Partially True

Fact Check: 173 Nations Just Granted Expanded Powers to the WHO While public attention was elsewhere, representatives from 173 countries voted to significantly expand the authority of the World Health Organization (WHO) over national health policies, border decisions, and personal freedoms. Under these new agreements, when the WHO declares a "global health emergency," it will no longer need to seek approval from individual governments to enforce its directives. Your nation has already committed to following their lead. This could include: Border shutdowns Lockdowns Mass vaccination efforts Digital health ID systems All potentially initiated by unelected figures such as WHO Directo General Tedros Ghebreyesus or influential private actors like Bill Gates-without any democratic input from the citizens who will b

Detailed fact-check analysis of: 173 Nations Just Granted Expanded Powers to the WHO While public attention was elsewhere, representatives from 173 countries voted to significantly expand the authority of the World Health Organization (WHO) over national health policies, border decisions, and personal freedoms. Under these new agreements, when the WHO declares a "global health emergency," it will no longer need to seek approval from individual governments to enforce its directives. Your nation has already committed to following their lead. This could include: Border shutdowns Lockdowns Mass vaccination efforts Digital health ID systems All potentially initiated by unelected figures such as WHO Directo General Tedros Ghebreyesus or influential private actors like Bill Gates-without any democratic input from the citizens who will b

Jul 26, 2025
Read more →
Explore All Fact Checks
Fact Check: Democrat Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) says the death toll from Trump's policies is now “estimated to be in the multiple millions | TruthOrFake Blog