U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) sparred with a Lindell TV reporter on Capitol Hill on Tuesday after acknowledging that Democrats may allow a government shutdown if negotiations fail to include healthcare funding for undocumented immigrants.
Her remarks came as lawmakers faced a midnight deadline to pass a continuing resolution to keep the government funded and open. That deadline passed after too few Senate Democrats voted in favor of a House-passed resolution that kept previous spending levels in place that Democrats had previously agreed to.
During an interview with Lindell TV reporter Alison Steinberg on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, Waters (D-Calif.) suggested that Democrats are standing firm on their demand to include healthcare coverage for undocumented immigrants in funding negotiations.
“Do Democrats want to prioritize the health care of illegal aliens over a government shutdown?” Steinberg asked.
At first, Waters would not answer the question directly, stating that healthcare is at the top of her party’s list of demands for new funding.
“But are Democrats demanding health care for illegal aliens?” Steinberg followed up.
“Democrats are demanding health care for everybody. We want to save lives. We want to make sure that health care is available to those who would die but having the help of their government,” the California Democrat said, tacitly admitting that funding would include for those in the country illegally.
Steinberg continued to press the issue, asking whether Waters would be “good with a shutdown, even if it means giving healthcare to people who aren’t Americans?”
Waters again declined to deny that taxpayer-funded healthcare for illegal immigrants is a demand from Democrats in shutdown negotiations, while appearing to lose patience with the reporter.
“What you’re trying to do is you’re standing here and you’re trying to make me say that somehow we’re going to put non-citizens over Americans. Quit it. Stop it. This is the kind of journalism we don’t need. You’re divisive,” Waters snapped.
Republicans and the White House have rejected Democratic proposals due to demands for taxpayer-funded healthcare for illegal aliens.
“If you look at the original they did with this negotiation, it was a $1.5 trillion spending package, basically saying the American people want to give massive amounts of money, hundreds of billions of dollars to illegal aliens for their health care, while Americans are struggling to pay their health care bills,” Vice President JD Vance said after a meeting between legislative leaders at the White House on Monday.
“That was their initial foray into this negotiation. We thought it was absurd,” he added, noting that Democratic leaders came in with a demand for $1.5 trillion in new spending.
Congressional Republicans and the White House have pushed for a “clean” short-term funding measure to keep the government open through Nov. 21. Democrats, however, are seeking to tie the extension to a permanent renewal of expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits along with other provisions Republicans have rejected.
Republicans have argued that the overarching goal should be to reduce healthcare costs, not continue to provide subsidies without lowering the amount hospitals and healthcare facilities charge.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday morning, President Donald Trump warned that thousands of federal workers could face permanent job losses if Democrats proceed in a way that triggers a shutdown.
Three Senate Democrats broke with Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) on Tuesday and voted for a House Republican-drafted bill to fund the government through Nov. 21.
Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), who is part of the Senate Democratic leadership team, voted for the GOP funding proposal together with Senator John Fetterman (D-Pa.) and Senator Angus King (Maine), an independent who works with Democrats.
The measure failed 55-45; it needed 60 votes to move forward.
Republicans will be introducing the bill again on Wednesday for a vote, where some believe even more Democrats could flip and pass the bill to reopen the government, which would be a brutal blow to Schumer.