'Don’t f*** around with Medicaid': Trump's stern warning to Republicans in latest ‘big beautiful bill’ drama

US President Donald Trump in a stern warning told congressional Republicans on Tuesday not to "f**k around" with Medicaid during a closed-door meeting Tuesday as he sought to rally support for his “big beautiful bill". This is a stark pushback to conservative lawmakers demanding steeper cuts to the program in "one big, beautiful bill." Trump made the comment as he works to win over fiscal conservatives by pushing a series of key campaign promises, such as extending his 2017 tax cuts and scrapping taxes on tips, overtime pay, and Social Security.

Trump defends planned changes to Medicaid

On Tuesday, Trump defended planned changes to Medicaid, which he called crackdown on fraud, before entering the meeting with House Republicans. “We’re not doing any cutting of anything meaningful,” the president said. “The only thing we’re cutting is waste, fraud and abuse.”

Trump is already floating political retribution for Republican holdouts who don't get in line. He also tore into Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who has been a firm "no" on the bill throughout the process, blasting him publicly and privately as a "grandstander" and saying he should be "voted out of office", reported Axios. Trump also warned the GOP's blue state holdouts not to push too hard on the SALT deduction cap.


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However, skeptical Republicans—such as Representative Chip Roy of Texas—have insisted that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act include more conservative reforms to Medicaid, such as introducing work requirements for able-bodied Americans at an earlier stage.

“He paints with some colorful phrases, maybe that we hear more often here than we do in South Dakota,” Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD) told The Post about Trump’s message to Republicans. “When he says don’t touch things … he means don’t make adjustments to the bill as drafted.
“The president is the world’s best salesman,” Johnson added. “You could tell that he moved the room.”

What does 'One Big, Beautiful Bill say?

The latest version of the bill includes a mandatory work requirement of 80 hours per month for able-bodied adults aged 19 to 64, scheduled to begin in 2029. However, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) indicated on Monday that this requirement may be moved up to “early 2027” before the bill goes to a full House vote. Some fiscal conservatives have pushed for an even earlier implementation.

Medicaid, which provides health coverage to over 70 million low-income Americans, operated with a federal budget of approximately $618 billion in the last fiscal year.

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The bill also introduces several other changes: it would require Medicaid recipients with annual incomes above the federal poverty level of $15,650 to pay up to $35 per medical service; reduce reimbursement rates under the Affordable Care Act for states that cover undocumented immigrants; and prohibit state Medicaid programs from paying health care providers more than Medicare rates.

But millions of people could lose health coverage if the current reconciliation bill's Medicaid cuts become law.

"President Trump and Republicans are protecting and preserving Medicaid for the Americans who the program was intended to be a lifeline for: pregnant women, children, disabled individuals, and seniors," White House spokesperson Kush Desai told Axios'

The current version of the bill, which is set to come before the House Rules Committee early Wednesday morning, would raise the deduction cap to $30,000 — an amount a handful of blue-state GOP lawmakers have described as inadequate.

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“Trump is a blast. If everyone could have heard that speech his popularity would be at 80%,” Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.), a skeptic of the push to raise the SALT cap, said after the meeting.

“Fighting the drug companies on pricing. Fighting the hedge fund guys on taxes. Warning a handful of screwballs to stay away from Social Security. Fighting for the average guy against the ultra-rich pricks all day long.”

Republicans are dealing with a 220-213 majority in the House and can only afford to lose three votes if there’s full attendance.