'Don't f--- around with Medicaid': Trump works to clear out GOP opposition to policy bill
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump warned the right flank of House Republicans not to touch Medicaid any further, urging GOP lawmakers to rally behind what he's called his "big, beautiful bill" to carry out his domestic agenda.
"Don't f--- around with Medicaid," Trump said, according to two Republican lawmakers who confirmed the comment to Paste BN under the condition of anonymity.
Trump's message came as members of the House Freedom Caucus have pushed for deeper cuts to Medicaid to support the legislation, which Trump and Republican House leadership hope to pass through a budget process known as reconciliation.
Trump said Republicans should focus only on "eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse" from Medicaid, according to a senior White House official, including adding work requirements and cutting immigrants who are in the country without authorization from the program. Democrats have slammed the proposal as a drastic cut to the benefit program to finance tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans.
The proposed bill would cut an estimated $625 billion from the program, which provides health care to more than 71 million low-income Americans. Several Republican hard-liners have pushed for deeper cuts to the program. Trump told reporters before the meeting that those lawmakers who hold out for more changes should "possibly" face primary challenges.
"That was a meeting of love. That was love in that room," Trump said after the meeting concluded. "There was no shouting. There were a couple of things that we talked about specifically where some people felt a little bit one way or the other ‒ not a big deal. And I covered them."
In a reversal from his past position, Trump also said he does not support an even higher cap for a state and local tax deduction, known as SALT, which moderate Republicans from Democratic-led states such as New York have sought.
The current plan would lift the SALT cap from $10,000 to $30,000, but a handful of blue-state Republicans have been fighting to raise the cap higher.
"We don't want to benefit Democrat governors," Trump told reporters ahead of the meeting.
Inside the meeting, Trump's message regarding SALT not to let the issue impede the bill and to push the fight to another day, the White House official said.
"The President also made it clear he’s losing patience with all holdout factions of the House Republican Conference, including the SALT Caucus and the House Freedom Caucus," the official said. "The President is clear: he wants EVERY Republican to vote yes."
Trump's message wasn't enough for some members fighting for deeper cuts or a higher SALT cap. Rep. Mike Lawler, R-New York, one of the members pushing on SALT, said, "It's imperative that we get a deal done and get a bill passed ... but as it stands right now with those numbers, I don't support it."
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, one of the leading House Freedom Caucus members pushing for more limited spending, wrote on X shortly after the meeting: "Limit gov spending, put money back in the pockets of hard working Americans and get the hell out of their way."
However, others appeared swayed. Rep. Ralph Norman, R-South Carolina, one of the members who has pushed for deeper spending cuts, said after the meeting that Trump "did a great job. There's no better speech than anybody could have given."
"He just wants the bill passed," Norman said.
Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison and Riley Beggin on X @rbeggin.