Cigar-Smoking Republican Not Remotely Concerned About Americans Losing Healthcare
House Republicans passed the 'Big Beautiful Bill' on Thursday, despite bipartisan concerns about its steep cuts to Medicaid and other social safety net programs. Trump is expected to sign it into law on Friday.
It will result in 11.8 million people losing health insurance over the next decade, according to a recent estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, with other calculations putting the figure at over 17 million.
Scripps News correspondent Elizabeth Landers asked Nehls—whose hands were wrapped in bandages—about that analysis after the bill's passage on Thursday.
'Can I ask you about the CBO score and the idea that 11 million, 12 million Americans may lose health insurance?' she asked.
'I don't have any faith and confidence in the CBO, their scoring, they're wrong half the damn time,' the Texas congressman said. 'I don't give any—nah. I'm not worried about the CBO."
'You're not worried at all that Americans may lose their healthcare because of this bill?' Landers followed up.
Nehls seemed to suggest, without evidence, that the cuts would only impact undocumented immigrants.
'Some Americans that aren't Americans. And that is, the illegals,' said the lawmaker, who has on multiple occasions worn ties emblazoned with Trump's face to work. 'Why should illegals be on Medicare?'
'We did a great job with it all!' he added. 'The American people spoke.'
According to recent polling, most Americans oppose the bill. A Fox News national poll found that only 38% of respondents favored the legislation. Other polls throughout June showed that Americans largely disapprove of it.
Nehls' office did not immediately return a request for comment on his remarks or the bandages.
While multiple other GOP lawmakers have dismissed the concerns about the bill's effects on Medicaid, one North Carolina senator effectively quit amid a dispute over it.
Sen. Thom Tillis announced last week he would not seek re-election after railing against the Medicaid cuts. His opposition had prompted primary threats from Trump. In a fiery floor speech after his announcement, Tillis told Trump that supporting the latest version of the bill 'will hurt people who are eligible and qualified for Medicaid.'
The bill will impose work requirements for Medicaid, which Republicans insist will weed out people who shouldn't qualify. But experts warn it will create a bureaucratic nightmare that will end up stripping coverage from eligible people, often in the most vulnerable segments of the population.
It will slash about $1 trillion from the program, marking the largest cut in its history. Trump had previously vowed not to touch Medicaid.
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