Speaker Johnson Swats Down Dem Narrative About Medicaid Cuts In ‘Big Beautiful Bill’

House Speaker Mike Johnson dismissed as untrue Democratic claims that the “big, beautiful bill” narrowly passed by the chamber last week, containing much of President Donald Trump’s agenda, includes cuts to current Medicaid beneficiaries.

In an interview with NBC’s Kristin Welker, Johnson clarified what the president and Republicans have been saying for days – the “most vulnerable” Americans are not going to be “at risk.”

“Let’s move on to Medicaid. As you know, that’s a big part of the debate as well,” Welker began the segment, including a critical quote from the American Hospital Association, which claimed that “the sheer magnitude” of Medicaid reductions will negatively impact every recipient and especially rural hospitals.

“Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri is calling this a hospital tax, Mr. Speaker. Does the House bill put hospitals and, frankly, the most vulnerable Americans at risk?” Welker asked as Johnson shook his head to debunk the AHA statement.

“No. You can underscore what I am about to tell you: there are no Medicaid cuts in the big, beautiful bill. We’re not cutting Medicaid,” Johnson stressed, while going on to say that the bill “strengthens” the benefit program by cutting waste, fraud, and abuse — something Democrats used to support, too, before Trump and Republicans took up the cause.

In addition, Johnson noted that the program was originally intended for young, pregnant women, disabled Americans, and the elderly, but that many “young men” who are able to work are currently receiving benefits as well.

“That drains resources from the people who need it most and what we are doing is an important and heroic thing to preserve the program so it doesn’t become insolvent,” he said, noting that the GOP bill will reimpose a work requirement for “able bodied” Americans similar to the one signed into law by President Bill Clinton in the 1990s.

The work requirement is only 20 hours per week.

“You’re telling me that you’re going to require the able-bodied, these young men, for example, OK, to only work or volunteer in their community for 20 hours a week. And that’s too cumbersome for them?” Johnson told “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker. “I’m not buying it. The American people are not buying it.”

Johnson also dismissed the claim that the bill would harm rural hospitals, noting “there’s a lot of flexibility” built into the legislation.

Related Posts

Bill Barr accused of working with Fani Willis to take down Trump

Bill Barr, a former U.S. attorney general to Donald Trump, was supposedly working with Fani Willis to take down the president. A whistleblower revealed all in a…

Photo of Kamala Harris Draws Wave of Criticism After Going Viral Online

A photo of former Vice President Kamala Harris that was apparently taken by her husband, former second husband Doug Emhoff, has gone viral online after receiving a…

Chinese Nationals Arrested For Stealing Sensitive U.S. Tech: DOJ

Two Chinese nationals—one of whom was in the U.S. unlawfully—have been arrested on federal charges for allegedly exporting tens of millions of dollars’ worth of sensitive microchips…

Judge Issues Restraining Order Against Texas Nonprofit For Helping AWOL Dems

A Texas judge on Friday ruled against Beto O’Rourke and his nonprofit in a case brought by state Attorney General Ken Paxton, accusing them of illegally raising…

Trump Reappoints Newly-Minted IRS Commissioner to Ambassadorship

President Trump has opted to replace Billy Long as commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), with the former congressman announcing Friday that he will assume a…

Donald Trump Appears To Name Likely 2028 Republican Ticket

President Trump is signaling that the 2028 Republican presidential race may already have a frontrunner—and it’s his current Vice President, JD Vance. In a series of comments…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *