Mike Johnson's office now having to fact-check Republican reps' claims about Trump's bill
Even House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) isn't immune from Republican disinformation campaigns.
On Thursday, journalist Jamie Dupree noticed an exchange between Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) and Athina Lawson, who is Johnson's press secretary. Ogles had tweeted a claim that the current budget reconciliation bill being debated in Congress "codifies Obamacare expansions that funnel money to illegal aliens.
"I'm not an Obamacare Republican," Ogles tweeted. "We either rip out the waste, fraud and abuse, or we pass a bad bill."
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Lawson quote-tweeted Ogles and responded: "The House bill does no such thing. In fact, the one Big, Beautiful Bill cuts off the 1.4M illegal aliens who are stealing Medicaid coverage from American citizens."
"House Republicans are cracking down on states financing gimmicks that give free health care to illegal aliens," she added.
It's worth noting that neither Ogles nor Lawson are quoting accurate figures when referring to undocumented immigrants "stealing Medicaid coverage from American citizens." As the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) reported, undocumented immigrants are not eligible for Medicaid. Lawfully present immigrants may qualify, but only if they meet eligibility requirements. And some states, like Colorado, have chosen to use their own money to create health insurance plans for undocumented residents.
And while some Medicaid dollars are used to provide emergency care for people who show up to hospital emergency rooms without insurance – and while some of those people are undocumented – that accounts for less than 1% of total Medicaid spending according to KFF. Republicans are currently torn in negotiations between a bill that cuts roughly $880 billion from Medicaid, and other moderate Republicans who want to preserve the program for their low-income and disabled constituents.
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