Republican U.S. Representative Mark Alford of Missouri said that he would support “changes” to Medicaid hours after the issue took center stage during a contentious town hall event with his constituents on Monday.
Newsweek reached out for comment to Alford’s office and the White House via email on Monday night.
Why It Matters
President Donald Trump has been pushing Republicans to dramatically reduce the size of the federal government during the early weeks of his second term in office.
The Trump administration has initiated some cost-cutting measures via executive order and through Elon Musk‘s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
But some Republicans are pushing for popular programs like Medicaid and Medicare to also go on the chopping block, despite opinion polls showing that the U.S. public wants the government to spend more on the programs and that cutting them would be deeply unpopular.
What To Know
During an interview with CNN‘s Kaitlan Collins on Monday night, Alford argued that his support for Medicaid savings was different from support for “cuts” to the program, while insisting that he would not “throw granny off the cliff” to accomplish his goal.
“I will vote for a bill tomorrow that has savings for Medicaid,” Alford said. “And I’ll tell you the difference, this is … a nuanced position. There is waste, abuse and fraud in Medicaid. We are finding out through DOGE and through the access to this data that there is waste, abuse and fraud in just about every government program.”
“In the Medicaid system, we’ve got to make sure that that’s eliminated,” he added. “Then we also have to make sure that able-bodied adults with no dependent children are not on Medicaid. And right now, the system says that there are.”
Collins then interjected by asking Alford if he was saying that he does “want changes to Medicaid.”
“I want changes,” the congressman responded. “But I’m not going to throw granny off the cliff, and people who really need Medicaid and depend upon that for their health and survivability.”
Clips from Alford’s Kansas City-area Mondays with Mark that were aired earlier during the CNN broadcast showed members of the audience arguing with the congressman over potential Medicaid cuts and his support for Musk and DOGE.
Alford told the crowd that there were “some things in Medicaid that can be reformed,” prompting someone in the audience to shout “do it through Congress, not Elon,” according to The Kansas City Star.
The congressman later claimed during his interview with Collins that the event had been infiltrated by “outside agitators,” although many of the spectators were reportedly recently fired federal workers from his home state.
What People Are Saying
Missouri activist Justice Horn, while sharing a video clip of Alford telling fired federal workers that “God has a plan” for them during his town hall in a post to X, formerly Twitter: “My U.S. Congressman, Mark Alford tells our Federal workers ‘God has a plan,’ as the crowd rightfully boos him.
I’ve had the privilege of speaking at the Kansas City VA Medical Center, the Federal Reserve, the Department of Energy, GSA, and Honeywell, and our local federal employees are the backbone of this community.
Maybe it’s time for someone to take this guy on and challenge him if he’s not going to stand with workers—because someone needs to fight for them.”
David Karol, associate professor at the University of Maryland, in previous comments to Newsweek: “There is no way to balance the budget strictly on the spending side without massive cuts to programs that would be hugely unpopular, even with many Trump voters. Voters in very red states have approved ballot measures expanding Medicaid coverage, for example.
So Republicans will ultimately have to choose between incompatible promises. Traditionally, the defense of entitlement programs has been a very strong issue for Democrats, so this is a perilous choice for the GOP.”
What Happens Next
Republicans are expected to vote on a federal budget bill that includes massive cuts to Medicaid and other programs on Tuesday. The bill includes around $800 billion in cuts to Medicaid over the next decade, according to Forbes.
There appears to be considerable Republican support for the cuts. But it’s unclear whether the bill will pass with the Medicaid “savings” intact due to the closely divided partisan makeup of the House. Trump campaigned last year on a promise to leave Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security untouched.
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