Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., called on senators to embrace the "changes for Medicaid that the House passed" in the wide-ranging tax and domestic policy bill still being debated by the Senate, telling Newsmax that this would help propel the legislation over the finish line.
The Senate continued its marathon voting session on Tuesday, breaking the 24-hour mark without reaching an agreement on the legislation to solidify President Donald Trump's domestic policy agenda into law.
Malliotakis told "Wake Up America" that House legislators are "all waiting to see what the Senate does," noting that "there's still a number of open items" to vote on. She said that legislators "want to get it done as soon as possible, but we want to make sure it's the right product, and if it takes a few more days or weeks, I think that's OK, but if we can get it done this week, we should."
Malliotakis said, "Many of our members, from the moderates to the Freedom Caucus and [House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.], have been urging the Senate to adopt the changes for Medicaid that the House passed."
Malliotakis said these changes "were reasonable; they were balanced; they did what Americans want it to do, which is protect our most vulnerable — our seniors, our disabled, our children — but also root out that waste, fraud, and abuse that we know is prevalent in the system, but also implement work requirements for able-bodied individuals who have the ability to work, volunteer, or learn."
She hopes to "see some of those changes reflected in the amendments that are being adopted right now," said Malliotakis.
"The big question" about the bill is which Republican holdout will "flip their vote to give the Senate the votes to pass this?" she said.
Malliotakis added that Republicans are focused on Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, but she said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., would be a safer bet if the Senate adopted the House's changes to Medicaid.
"It looks like they're looking at Murkowski of Alaska to be the one to flip," Malliotakis said, "but Tillis did say if we go back to the Medicaid framework that … the House passed that he would be willing to vote for it as well. So that's why I make the argument, it seems, if you want to satisfy the most people in this, use the Medicaid language that we passed out of the House."
Malliotakis, whose district includes Staten Island and part of Brooklyn, also commented on New York state Rep. Zohran Mamdani's recent win in the New York City mayoral Democrat primary, criticizing his support for socialist policies, saying it is "very scary for New York."
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Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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