The White House on Monday defended plans by House Republicans to reform Medicaid, saying the reconciliation budget proposal, dubbed President Donald Trump's "one big, beautiful bill," will "strengthen and preserve" the healthcare program for low-income individuals for "decades to come."
"The one big, beautiful bill also provides critical protections of Medicaid, which will strengthen and preserve the program for decades to come through common-sense efforts to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters during a briefing that aired live on Newsmax and the Newsmax2 free online streaming platform.
"Medicaid will no longer be used to pay for barbaric gender mutilation procedures on minor children, and the 1.4 million illegal aliens who are currently improperly receiving Medicaid benefits will be kicked off the program to preserve it for hardworking American citizens who need it," Leavitt said. "President Trump and Republicans are protecting Medicaid benefits for pregnant women, children, disabled individuals, low-income seniors and families, and the most vulnerable Americans in our society. And that's what Democrats are so angry about: basic Medicaid protections that will stop the funding of transgender insanity and illegal aliens from ripping off American taxpayers."
House Republicans are trying to overcome differences in Medicaid reforms, with fiscal conservatives blocking a bill from passing the House Budget Committee on Friday. But four changed their votes to present Sunday so that the House Rules Committee could consider the measure Wednesday, the Washington Examiner reported Monday. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., offered to fast-track new Medicaid work requirements from 2029 to 2026 for their tentative support.
"So the president wants to preserve and protect Medicaid for Americans who this program was intended for: the most vulnerable in our society, pregnant women, low-income families, seniors, those who truly need these benefits," Leavitt said. "And it should be going to people who physically cannot work.
"We want to see abled-bodied Americans at least working 20 hours per week, whether that's part time or full time, whether that's even looking for work or volunteering for 20 hours a week if they are receiving Medicaid. These are common-sense provisions."
"These are common-sense changes that were actually introduced by former Democrat President [Bill] Clinton. They've been supported by every Democrat president since, including the previous president, Joe Biden. But again, these are common-sense reforms to ensure that those that this program was intended for receive those benefits."
On Sunday, Johnson wouldn't provide details on the changes made with fiscal conservatives when asked about the 2026 date, but he indicated there was broad support to make it earlier than 2029, the Examiner reported.
"I think it's the desire of every Republican, always has been, to make work requirements real and actionable as soon as possible," Johnson said. "We learned in the process that some of the states needed a longer lag time to add in the implementation of the new policy. So we're going to … make it happen sooner, as soon as possible. And I think that's a good change in the policy."
Republican leadership aides told reporters Monday that they are looking to move the date up "as soon as it is feasible," but discussions are still ongoing. Still, moderate Republicans are concerned about demands by fiscal conservatives for changing Federal Medical Assistance Percentages that determine how much states receive in Medicaid payments, the Examiner reported. The moderates hope to increase the cap on state and local government tax deductions, which could undermine fiscal conservatives' goals of reducing the deficit.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.