{"id":1053761,"date":"2025-06-26T17:54:13","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T21:54:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/?p=1053761"},"modified":"2025-06-26T17:54:13","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T21:54:13","slug":"watch-karoline-leavitt-admits-trump-is-behind-the-gops-medicaid-cuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/watch-karoline-leavitt-admits-trump-is-behind-the-gops-medicaid-cuts\/","title":{"rendered":"WATCH: Karoline Leavitt Admits Trump is Behind the GOP\u2019s Medicaid Cuts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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In response to Karoline Leavitt admitting that Senate Republicans are doing Trump\u2019s bidding with major cuts to Medicaid in the GOP budget bill, <\/em>DNC Communications Director Rosemary Boeglin issued the following statement:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKaroline Leavitt told the truth for once \u2014 Donald Trump is behind Senate Republicans\u2019 efforts to slash Medicaid. As Trump prepares to go on a roadshow in vulnerable Republican districts this summer to try to sell the most regressive budget bill in 40 years, the 16 million Americans who are about to lose health care coverage will know exactly who is responsible.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

WATCH<\/strong><\/a>: Karoline Leavitt admits Senate Republicans are doing Trump\u2019s bidding in slashing Medicaid in the GOP budget bill \u2014 the most regressive budget in 40 years.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Reporter<\/a>: \u201c[I]f the final bill that the president\u2019s been talking about comes to him and it has Medicaid cuts in it, will he sign it or would he rather just Congress do away with those cuts?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Karoline Leavitt: \u201cI think our friends in both the Senate and the House know exactly where the president stands<\/strong> on Medicaid. He wants to get rid of the waste, fraud, and abuse <\/strong>and they are working to do that in the Senate right now.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washington Center for Equitable Growth<\/a>: \u201c<\/strong>Congressional Republicans\u2019 budget bill is the most regressive in at least 40 years\u201d<\/strong>
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<\/strong>\u201cIf enacted, our calculations show that the current bill would reduce income among the poorest 20 percent of Americans by an average of 3.8 percent while increasing it by 3.7 percent for the richest 20 percent<\/strong>\u2014a difference of 7.5 percentage points.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FACT CHECK: The GOP\u2019s disastrous budget has little to do with eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse \u2014 and everything to do with slashing Medicaid benefits.  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

New York Times<\/a>: \u201cTrump and Allies Sell Domestic Policy Bill With Falsehoods\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs the Senate considers a domestic policy bill to enact the White House\u2019s agenda, President Trump and his allies have sought to assuage some lawmakers\u2019 concerns over <\/strong>its price tag and cuts to Medicaid with inaccurate claims.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey have dismissed estimates of the effect of the \u2018one big, beautiful bill\u2019 on the deficit as incorrect and described cuts to the health insurance program for poor Americans as simply trimming \u2018waste, fraud and abuse.\u2019 \u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut most of the changes to Medicaid have little to do with waste, fraud or abuse<\/strong> as defined by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service. \u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut most other provisions fit into several categories of cuts and restrictions, <\/strong>according to Professor Park [at Georgetown University whose research focuses on Medicaid and the Children\u2019s Health Insurance Program], targeting Medicaid expansion, limiting states\u2019 ability to finance Medicaid, imposing red tape on beneficiaries, rolling back protections against medical debt, forcing states to drop coverage, and limiting access to care and long-term care.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2018These are cuts that will take away coverage and access from many millions of low-income Medicaid beneficiaries,\u2019<\/strong> he said. \u2018One cannot credibly claim that these provisions involve curbing \u201cfraud, waste and abuse.\u201d\u2019\u2019\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

POLL: A majority of Americans oppose Trump\u2019s disastrous billionaire-first budget \u2014 a number that <\/strong>only rises<\/strong><\/a> when people learn what\u2019s in the bill.  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n