Fox’s Kennedy pushed back on Democratic strategist Jessica Tarlov Friday on “The Five,” highlighting how federal funds are partly going to illegal immigrants.
Ahead of the government shutdown that began early Wednesday, Republicans criticized Democrats for trying to fund healthcare for illegal migrants in their proposed continuing resolution, while some Democrats denied the claims. During the discussion, Tarlov denied Democrats were funding healthcare for illegal aliens, prompting Kennedy to point to California. (RELATED: Megyn Kelly Says She Knows How To Fix Illegal Immigration Crisis ‘Overnight’)
“I’m sorry to say it, but both parties are to blame. We got here because the more money you get from taxpayers, the more control you have over the government. Government is too big. I think there are many things that might go away that honestly we won’t really miss,” Kennedy said.
“But it is a disingenuous argument to say that the Medi-Cal spending in the state of California is only state spending for illegal aliens, because that is one of the states where Governor Newsom decided that it would be a great idea to just start writing checks to people who were here illegally. That is Medi-Cal. It was extended to illegal immigrants,” Kennedy added. “So [Democrat Rep.] Mark Pocan, who is a representative from Wisconsin, said that’s not a federal issue. The federal government isn’t funding that. Actually, the federal government does, because Medi-Cal is funded by Medicaid.”
Despite Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer denying that Democrats are trying to fund healthcare for illegal immigrants, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has repeatedly cited specific text supporting his party’s claims in multiple interviews.
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Since June, the Trump administration has been aware of illegal immigrants on Medicaid, as officials provided deportation officers with information that included millions of Medicaid enrollees to aid in enforcement efforts. The data included individuals living in areas that allow illegal migrants to enroll in their Medicaid programs, which includes California, Washington, D.C., Illinois and Washington state.
Kennedy went on to say that a portion of Medicaid funding comes from the federal government, while also calling out Democrats for criticizing the Republican spending bill as one that would raise healthcare premiums.
“Medicaid is funded half by the federal government and half by the state, unless you’re talking about the 90% of people who are at the intersection of the ACA [Affordable Care Act], which is a horrible system, which already had high premiums before the pandemic and got a goose so people wouldn’t die so they could afford their health care,” Kennedy said.
“Now that the pandemic is over, you cannot maintain spending at those levels. And to do so was a heartless gambit in the first place. That was run by Democrats who made this big promise of socialized medicine,” Kennedy said. “But the reality is, the more government you have, the more problems you have, especially in overly subsidized sectors like health care.”
During an appearance on Fox News’ “Special Report with Bret Baier” Wednesday, Johnson urged viewers to check “page 57 of Chuck Schumer’s bill and look at section 2141.”
According to the Democrats’ proposed continuing resolution, Section 2141, titled “REPEAL OF HEALTH SUBTITLE CHANGES,” seeks to repeal the “Big, Beautiful Bill’s” Title VII, Section B, which pertains to Medicare and efforts to curb waste, fraud, and abuse in the system, including the restriction of “Alien Medicaid eligibility” in Sec. 71109.
