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"We are very confident that the way we structured the Big, Beautiful Bill is that a lot of what people are saying that you're going to somehow see reduced health care outcomes. I don't believe that's going to happen for a second," Vance said in response to a question from NBC News. "We actually are increasing funding to rural hospitals. We're increasing funding to needy people. What we're not doing is we're not allowing illegal immigrants to collect the American people's Medicaid benefits, because it's going to bankrupt that program."
"If you want to protect Medicaid, and President Trump certainly wants to, then the best way to protect Medicaid is to ensure only the needy get access to Medicaid, not people who don't even have the legal right to be in our country to begin with," Vance added.
Undocumented immigrants are not eligible for Medicaid benefits.
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USA Today
14 minutes ago
- USA Today
Rep. Mike Flood booed at Nebraska town hall after defending Trump policies
The event in Lincoln, Nebraska, attracted a rowdy crowd that continuously yelled and booed as GOP Rep. Mike Flood defended Trump administration policies. Congressman Mike Flood said he wanted to talk about President Donald Trump's signature legislation and declared there was "a lot of misinformation" surrounding it. That's when the shouting started, continuing for more than an hour as the Republican lawmaker faced a rowdy town hall crowd in Lincoln, Nebraska, on Aug. 4, full of people irate about Trump's new bill and other policies coming from his administration. Audience members in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Kimball Recital Hall pressed Flood on releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files, accused Trump of "fascism," and raised concerns about cuts to government programs. They yelled and booed continuously as Flood spoke. Trump carried Nebraska by 20 percentage points in 2024, and Flood won his district, which includes Lincoln and other communities in the eastern part of the state, by the same margin in 2024. But the town hall reflected an energized opposition to the new administration. Trump's top legislative priority, a package that includes sweeping tax cuts and deep reductions to spending on programs such as Medicaid, was a frequent target. One woman called the measure a "monstrosity." The president signed the new law on July 4. With the House in recess until September, lawmakers are now home in their districts, hearing directly from voters about the legislation. Polls indicate the measure is unpopular. Trump and the GOP have been gearing up to sell voters on it ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. The town hall highlighted the challenges they face. The crowd unloaded on Flood, who tried to preempt some of the criticism by opening the event with a defense of the law, lauding the tax reductions and focusing on Medicaid work requirements and a fund to help rural hospitals. "More than anything, I truly believe this bill protects Medicaid for the future," Flood said. The crowd booed, and the criticism kept coming. The law is projected to cut $1 trillion mostly from Medicaid and Affordable Care Act insurance plans and eliminate insurance coverage for 11.8 million people over the next decade, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. A person raised concerns about thousands of Nebraskans losing health insurance coverage. Other constituents focused on the CBO projection that the law will increase the national debt by $3.4 trillion over a decade. With the Trump administration embroiled in a controversy over releasing government records about Epstein, a wealthy financier who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges, one question posed to Flood: "Why are you covering up the Epstein files?" Flood said he favors releasing the records. The congressman was also pressed about how to ensure the accuracy of the nation's economic data after Trump decided to fire Erika McEntarfer, the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, following the agency's release of a report showing weak job creation. Flood said he didn't know the details, but that "if all that person did was get the data out there… and I don't know that's the case, but if that's all they did, I would not have fired her." "But I don't know because things are complicated," Flood added. Contributing: Ken Alltucker
The Hill
14 minutes ago
- The Hill
Nebraska Republican booed over Medicaid cuts during town hall
Rep. Mike Flood (R-Neb.) was interrupted by boos and chants of 'tax the rich' while defending the GOP's 'big, beautiful bill' and its impact on Medicaid during his Monday town hall in Lincoln, Nebraska. As Flood discussed the bill's changes to Medicaid — which includes the largest cuts to the program since it began in the 1960s — the crowd erupted in boos. 'So here's a question,' Flood said in response to the crowd. 'Do you think that people who are 28 years old that can work and refuse to work should get free healthcare?' Attendees replied with cheers and shouts of 'yes.' 'I don't think that the majority of Nebraskans agree with you,' Flood said in response. Flood also asserted that the spending bill 'protects Medicaid for the future,' which was met with boos from the crowd. At another point during the town hall, an attendant asked, 'Why did you cut SNAP and health care research?' 'We do not have unlimited money in the United States,' Flood said in response, garnering more boos and shouts from the attendees. Flood, who was recently elected chair of the Republican Main Street Caucus in the House, was also previously interrogated over the GOP's spending bill and its proposed changes to Medicaid during a town hall in May after the bill passed the House. At the May town hall, Flood received sharp pushback from the crowd after he said the language of a provision in the bill — which he voted for — was 'unknown' to him and that he was not in favor of it. The provision aimed to restrict federal judges' ability to hold government officials in contempt when they violate a court order.
NBC News
15 minutes ago
- NBC News
Rep. Mike Flood faces backlash at town hall in Nebraska
Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., faced boos and heckling during a Nebraska town hall as he answered questions about Medicaid cuts in the GOP's 'Big, Beautiful Bill' and the release of the Jeffrey Epstein 5, 2025
