House Republican Revels in People Losing Medicaid Thanks to Trump’s Bill: ‘Just Some Americans That Aren’t Americans’
Elizabeth Landers/X
Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) isn’t concerned about the more than 11 million people expected to lose healthcare thanks to the Republican spending bill that passed on Thursday.
The Senate passed the bill earlier this week with the enthusiastic backing of President Donald Trump, who in a closed-door meeting on Wednesday, reportedly demonstrated he had no idea about the Medicaid cuts in the bill, which also cuts food assistance to millions of people. The legislation also extends the 2017 tax cuts and allocates more money to Immigration and Customs Enforcement than the vast majority of the world’s militaries. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the bill will add $3.3 trillion to the national debt over the next 10 years. Republicans have responded to the estimate by claiming it is wrong, though they have offered no explanation why.
After the House vote, Nehls took questions from reporters outside the Capitol. In a video posted by Scripps National Security Correspondent Elizabeth Landers, Nehls scoffed at the cuts and suggested they would only kick “illegals” off the healthcare program for lower-income Americans.
“Can I ask you about the CBO score and the idea that 11 million, 12 million Americans may lose health insurance?” a reporter asked.
“I don’t have any faith and confidence in the CBO,” Nehls said, who was smoking a cigar and had both hands wrapped in bandages. “They’re scoring, they’re wrong half the damn time.”
“So, you’re not worried at all that Americans may lose their healthcare because of this?” she followed up.
“No,” he answered. “Just some Americans that aren’t Americans, and that is the illegals. Why should illegals be on Medicare [sic]? Shouldn’t have it. We did a great job with it all. We did a great job. I appreciate it. The American people spoke, the American people spoke, and the elected representatives spoke today. And what did we do? We supported and passed this one big, beautiful bill. So now you’ve gotta a accept it and absorb it because it’s the right thing to do for the American people.”
Undocumented immigrants are not eligible for Medicaid.
