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Tags: mike johnson | healthcare | gavin newsom | immigrants | california | news media

Speaker Johnson: Dems, Media Confirm Newsom Wrong on Immigrant Healthcare

By    |   Tuesday, 16 December 2025 12:51 PM EST

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Tuesday demanded retractions and apologies from the media and key Democrats, who he said "repeatedly insisted" that illegal aliens do not receive taxpayer-funded healthcare, after California Gov. Gavin Newsom's confirmation that such services are being offered.

"During the Democrat Shutdown, the media and Democrats repeatedly insisted that illegal aliens do NOT receive taxpayer-funded health care," Johnson posted on X.

"Now, Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom has EXPOSED his own party for their lies," he added, with the video showing the California governor describing his support for universal health coverage regardless of immigration status.

The montage ends with narration saying, "Surely the retractions, corrections, and apologies are coming any minute now."

The video includes CNN's Kaitlan Collins telling Johnson, "People who are here in the United States legally have never been eligible for the Obamacare subsidies, for Medicare, for Medicaid.

'So what exactly are you saying that they're trying to do when you talk about giving free healthcare?"

It also includes CNN's Jake Tapper saying, "So just as a point of fact, it's against the law for noncitizens to get those subsidies."

A "Meet the Press" clip in the montage includes host Kristen Welker telling Johnson, "Undocumented immigrants, as you know, are actually ineligible for federal healthcare."

Johnson responds, "No, let me correct."

Welker continues, "But let me say it. Then you can talk, OK? Right now, undocumented immigrants are not eligible for federal healthcare programs."

"Democrats, as you heard, say they're not trying to change that," she added.

The video also includes Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., saying in an interview, "No — zero — federal dollars can go to undocumented immigrants through Medicare, through Medicaid, through ACA."

Another clip shows House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., responding to a question asking, "Is it true that you want to restore American taxpayer benefits to illegal immigrants?"

Jeffries replies, "Of course not. And thank you for asking that question, because this is also an outright lie."

The montage then includes Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., saying, "If you are undocumented in our country, you cannot get healthcare from the Affordable Care Act Exchange."

"You are not eligible for Medicare," he added. "You are not eligible for Medicaid for undocumented people.

"So they're just making that up."

It also includes a host on another program stating, "Undocumented immigrants who come across the border, who've been flagged for deportation, they cannot get Medicaid.

"They cannot get Obamacare. They can't get on the Affordable Care Act."

"That is not legal. Democrats are not trying to change that," she added.

Johnson's montage then cuts to Newsom saying he believes in universal healthcare and that California offers it.

"[California is] the first state in the country, regardless of preexisting conditions, ability to pay, and regardless of your immigration status," Newsom said. "I promised that; I promoted it; I ran three times on it.

"I did it when I was mayor. People know who I am."

Under federal law, immigrants in the U.S. illegally are generally ineligible for federally funded coverage such as Medicare and traditional Medicaid.

They cannot purchase subsidized plans through the Affordable Care Act marketplace, though hospitals can receive reimbursement for certain emergency care, and states can choose to fund separate coverage programs with state dollars, the law states.

© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.


Politics
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Tuesday demanded retractions and apologies from the media and key Democrats, who he said "repeatedly insisted" that illegal aliens do not receive taxpayer-funded healthcare, after California Gov. Gavin Newsom's confirmation that such services are being offered.
mike johnson, healthcare, gavin newsom, immigrants, california, news media
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2025-51-16
Tuesday, 16 December 2025 12:51 PM
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