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One of those programs, Vance explained, was a Biden-era policy reimbursing hospitals for medical services provided to undocumented immigrants. He blasted the program as harmful to Americans, both financially and medically.
“That’s bad for American citizens who want to use those services. It’s also bad for American taxpayers, who don’t want to pay for illegal aliens to use those services,” he said. Vance pointed out that the Trump administration had eliminated that policy in its “One Big Beautiful Bill,” but Democrats are now pushing to bring it back — at a price tag running into the “hundreds of billions of dollars.”
Vance also took aim at Biden’s controversial parole programs, which allowed mass entry of illegal immigrants by simply reclassifying them as parolees. This change, he warned, opened the door for those migrants to qualify for taxpayer-funded health care.
“We turned that off as well,” Vance said. “Democrats want to turn it back on.”
The vice president compared Democrats’ negotiating strategy to a hostage crisis, claiming they are holding military pay and basic government functions ransom in order to force Republicans to agree to benefits for illegal immigrants.
“It’s not just bad policy,” Vance declared. “We are not going to negotiate while being held hostage.”
He called on Democrats to support the Republican-backed continuing resolution — a clean bill that would reopen the government without stuffing it full of left-wing wish-list items.
“Turn the government back on, and then we can have a debate about health care policy,” he said.
The controversy heated up even further during a CNN interview between Jake Tapper and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. When confronted with specific language in the Democrats’ proposal, Jeffries brushed off Republican claims as “a lie.”
But Tapper pushed back, pointing directly to provisions that restored emergency Medicaid reimbursements for hospitals treating illegal immigrants and expanded coverage to asylum seekers and those with “temporary protected status.”
“Why even include that?” Tapper asked. Jeffries avoided giving a clear answer.
Republicans say the facts speak for themselves. They insist the bill Democrats drafted leaves no doubt about where their priorities lie.
“It’s in writing,” Vance said. “It’s not a talking point. It is in the text of the bill that they initially gave to us to reopen the government.”
Vance also blasted Democrats for misrepresenting the urgency of the fight. He reminded Americans that the health care provisions they’re demanding don’t even expire until next year.
“That premium support program doesn’t even expire until next year,” he explained. “So why are you shutting down the government on Oct. 1 because of a program that doesn’t even expire for another few months?”
Meanwhile, the White House and GOP lawmakers stress they’re willing to have a debate about health care policy — but only after Democrats agree to a clean funding bill. Until then, the standoff continues.
The shutdown, now stretching into its first week, has already put thousands of federal workers in limbo. Immigration enforcement officers and other essential personnel are still working — but without pay. And as the fight drags on, Americans are left watching Washington argue over whether their tax dollars should be used to cover health care for illegal immigrants.
