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By Kate Plummer
Senior US News Reporter
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House Speaker Mike Johnson was corrected live on air over claims Democrats tried to give those in the U.S. illegal access to health care as part of their negotiations to avoid a government shutdown.
The U.S. government shut down after the Senate adjourned Tuesday evening without passing a funding resolution, with both parties failing to agree on each others funding proposals needed to keep all federal operations running.
Speaking hours before the shutdown went into effect, Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, clashed with CNN's Kaitlan Collins about the Democrats' funding proposal.
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"The point about giving people who are here illegally is not exactly what is in their [Democrats'] proposal," Collins said. "It's immigrants who have legal status."
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Johnson replied: "No, Kaitlin you're wrong." Collins responded that she had read the proposal.
Newsweek contacted Johnson by email to comment on this story outside of normal business hours.
Why It Matters
The interview highlights concerns about misinformation in U.S. politics. It also highlights the complexity of the policies put forth and the potential for them to be misunderstood or misrepresented, though there is no suggestion that this was Johnson's intention.
What To Know
In the interview, Collins said Johnson was arguing about who in the country has legal status. Johnson replied that Republicans were ensuring "that health care benefits go only to eligible U.S. citizens."
Johnson's interview came as a number of Republican figures made similar claims about Democrat's intentions. President Donald Trump also claimed that Democrats "want to be able to take care of people that are coming into our country illegally," adding they "want to give them full health care benefits" as he left the White House on Tuesday morning.
On the same day, Vice President JD Vance said the Democrats "want to give massive amounts of money, hundreds of millions of dollars, to illegal aliens for their health care while Americans are struggling to pay their health care bills."
"Democrats are going to shut down the federal government and inflict significant pain on American citizens because President Trump won't force taxpayers to fund free benefits to illegal aliens," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X September 26. "Democrats are radical and completely America Last."
In reality, Democrats requested the reversal of Medicaid cuts and the extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire in December. They also asked to reinstate health care eligibility for those lawfully residing in the U.S.
Immigrants in the U.S. are not eligible for federally funded health insurance. Certain migrants groups including those lawfully in the U.S. were eligible until the Trump administration passed its spending bill in July.
The Democrat's proposal did not include free health care for illegal immigrants.
What People Are Saying
Speaking to Newsweek, Thomas Gift, an associate professor of political science and the director of the Centre on U.S. Politics at University College London, said: "Half-truths have become so baked into American political discourse that they’re almost the norm. Both parties increasingly weaponize selective statistics, exaggerated claims, or misleading framings to advance their own political ends. For average citizens, it makes accountability incredibly hard to decipher. Especially for a complex negotiation surrounding a shutdown, what’s technically true is often presented in a way that obscures the full picture."
House Speaker Mike Johnson on CNN: We are making sure in our provisions that we sign into law have ensured that health care benefits go only to eligible U.S. citizens. Federal law was not being enforced. We had to fine-tune that so that we could strengthen the health care program.
Connecticut Representative Rosa DeLauro and Washington Senator Patty Murray, both Democrats, said in a joint statement: "While Republicans push America to the brink of a shutdown, Democrats are ready to negotiate a bipartisan continuing resolution and government funding bills that lower the cost of living, help working people—not just billionaires—and protect people’s health care."
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters Monday that Republicans were misrepresenting the Democratic Party's position: "Federal law prohibits the expenditure of taxpayer dollars on providing health care to undocumented immigrants. Nowhere have Democrats suggested that we are interested in changing federal law."
What Happens Next
It is not clear how long the government shutdown will last. Lawmakers plan to meet on Wednesday as federal agencies' contingency plans start. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has signaled it could be used to make further cuts to the federal workforce.
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