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Republicans once maligned Medicaid. Now some see a program too big to touch
WASHINGTON (AP) — Every time a baby is born in Louisiana, where Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson handily won reelection last year, there’s more than a 60% chance taxpayers will finance the birth through Medicaid.
In Republican Rep. David Valadao ’s central California district, 6 out of 10 people use Medicaid to pay for doctor visits and emergency room trips.
And one-third of the population is covered by Medicaid in GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s Alaska, one of the nation’s costliest corners for health care.
Each of these Republicans — and some of their conservative colleagues — lined up last week to defend Medicaid, in a departure from long-held GOP policies. Republicans, who already have ruled out massive cuts to Social Security and Medicare, are turning their attention to siphoning as much as $880 billion from Medicaid over the next decade to help finance $4.5 trillion in tax cuts.
But as a deadline to avoid a partial government shutdown nears, hesitation is surfacing among Washington’s Republican lawmakers — once reliable critics of lofty government social welfare programs such as Medicaid — who say that deep cuts to the health care program could prove too untenable for people back home.
“I’ve heard from countless constituents who tell me the only way they can afford health care is through programs like Medicaid,” Valadao said on the House floor. “And I will not support a final reconciliation bill that risks leaving them behind.”
And on Wednesday, President Donald Trump, too, made his position on Medicaid clear: “We’re not going to touch it.”
States and the federal government jointly pay for Medicaid, which offers nearly-free health care coverage for roughly 80 million poor and disabled Americans, including millions of children. It cost $880 billion to operate in 2023.
Johnson has ruled out two of the biggest potential cuts: paying fixed, shrunken rates to states for care and changing the calculation for the share of federal dollars that each state receives for Medicaid. Just a few years ago, Johnson spearheaded a report that lobbied for some of those changes during the first Trump administration.
Johnson insisted in a CNN interview that the focus will instead be ferreting out “fraud, waste and abuse, in Medicaid, although it’s unlikely to deliver the savings Republicans seek.
GOP pressure over Medicaid is mounting, with some state party leaders joining the calls to preserve the program. States are already struggling with the growing cost of sicker patients and could be left to cover more if the federal government pulls back. In some states, the federal government picks up over 80%.
More than a dozen Minnesota GOP lawmakers wrote the president recently warning that “too deep of a cut is unmanageable in any instance.” Gov. Joe Lombardo, R-Nev., told Congress in a letter that “proposed reductions would put lives at risk.” In Alaska, state Senate Majority Leader Cathy Giessel, a Republican and nurse, cited “huge concerns” during a floor speech.
Nationally, 55% of Americans said the government spends too little on Medicaid, according to a January poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
“It’s now a very popular program that touches a very broad cross-section of American society,” said Drew Altman, president of the health care research firm KFF. “Roughly half of the American people say that they or a family member have at one time been served by the program.”
Significant changes to Medicaid are still on the table. They have to be for Republicans get the savings they need to pay for tax cuts.
Work requirements, which could save as much as $109 billion over the next decade, seem to have solid support among GOP members, with some individual Republican-led states already moving to implement them.
Republicans also could consider cuts in benefits or coverage, as well as eliminating a provider tax that states use to finance Medicaid, Altman added.
Democrats warn that reductions are inevitable and could be dire.
Starting Monday, TV ads will caution people across 20 congressional districts that hospitals are at risk of closing and millions of people could lose coverage if Republicans cut Medicaid “to fund massive tax cuts for Elon Musk and billionaires.” The Democratic super political action committee House Majority Forward has launched the seven-figure campaign.
Trump and Republicans have for years called to lower government spending on health care, but they have struggled to formulate a serious plan that gains traction. Trump, for example, has spent nearly a decade arguing for an overhaul of the Affordable Care Act. His efforts to repeal the Obama-era national health care law failed during his first term and in his most recent presidential campaign he offered only “concepts of a plan” to adapt the program.
Michael Cannon, a director of health studies at libertarian Cato Institute, believes Medicaid needs an overhaul because it is a significant part of the federal budget and a contributor to the nation’s growing debt.
But Republicans, he said, are not looking at serious ways to drive down the cost of health care.
“The only reason for the cuts right now is to pay for the tax cuts,” Cannon said. “None of them are talking about the need to do better health reform.”
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Associated Press writer Becky Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska and AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.
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TEL AVIV, Israel: Reactions in Israel to the Memorandum of Understanding reached by President Donald Trump and Iran on Sunday have been a mix of wait-and-see-the details and outright criticism.
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council confirmed on Sunday that Tehran and Washington had finalized a memorandum of understanding ending the war after months of negotiations. In a statement, the council said all military operations across multiple fronts, including in Lebanon, would cease “immediately and permanently.”
Talks on a comprehensive final agreement will reportedly begin only after both sides have implemented their obligations under the framework and are expected to continue for up to 60 days.
On Monday night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the nation, saying he had spent decades fighting Iran’s efforts to acquire a nuclear weapon. “I can define it as the mission of my life,” he said. “I stood by it until now, and I will stand by it in the future. With or without a deal, Iran will not have a nuclear weapon.”
TRUMP ANNOUNCES PEACE DEAL WITH IRAN, DECLARES STRAIT OF HORMUZ WILL REOPEN: ‘LET THE OIL FLOW!’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking to reporters during a press conference on the U.S-Iran deal on June 15, 2026. (Israel Government Press Office)
He continued, “Not today and not tomorrow. As long as I am the prime minister of Israel, it will not happen.”
Responding to reporters’ questions, Netanyahu acknowledged that he was not familiar with the exact details of the memorandum of understanding reached between the Trump administration and the Iranian regime but lauded the joint U.S.-Israel operation against the regime.
Netanyahu said the campaigns had spared Israel from the threat of nuclear annihilation. “If we had not acted when we did… and with the force we demonstrated in a historic partnership with President Trump and the U.S. military, Iran would already possess atomic bombs,” Netanyahu said.
Earlier on Monday, Defense Minister Israel Katz, held back from directly criticizing the deal but said that the IDF would not withdraw from southern Lebanon, warning that if Iran attacks Israel in response to the fighting against Hezbollah, “we will strike it with full force.”
He said, “The IDF will remain in the security zones in Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza, without any time limit, to protect the border and Israeli communities against jihadist elements.”
IDF troops fighting Hezbollah terrorists in southern Lebanon. (IDF Spokesman’s Unit.)
Katz described the security zones as “among the IDF’s greatest achievements” in the multi-front war since the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 massacre, adding that Israel therefore opposes an IDF withdrawal from Lebanon despite all the pressures that will still come.
Katz said he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had conveyed these positions to U.S. President Donald Trump and other senior American officials, including U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
“We will not compromise on Israel’s security interests and the protection of our citizens,” he concluded.
IRAN’S REGIME SPINS NUCLEAR AND STRAIT OF HORMUZ DEAL WITH TRUMP AS VICTORY OVER US, ISRAEL
President Donald Trump monitors U.S. military operations in Iran following an Israeli strike in Tehran on Feb. 28, 2026. (@WhiteHouse/X)
Yossi Kuperwasser, head of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security and former chief of the research division in the Israel Defense Forces’ Military Intelligence Directorate, told Fox News Digital that the details of the agreement remain sketchy.
“There was a debate within the Iranian leadership over whether to accept the deal,” he said. “It appears that the information we are hearing is coming from those who opposed it. Maybe they are right, maybe they are wrong, but it raises major concerns in Israel. If this is the deal, it is a disaster. If one listens to President Trump, the deal is probably something different.”
Kuperwasser defined a “good deal” as one in which Iran gives up all components of its nuclear program, grants access to enriched uranium and establishes a robust monitoring system capable of reaching anywhere at any time, including military facilities likely being used for atomic purposes. He added that such an agreement should also prohibit production of missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
A fireball rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike targeting an area in Beirut’s southern suburbs overnight on March 10 to 11, 2026. (Fadel itani / AFP via Getty Images)
“Lebanon’s fate is a matter to be discussed between Washington, Jerusalem, and Beirut,” Kuperwasser said. “Iran is not a party to those talks and should not be according to the Lebanese government. If Lebanon is to be part of a deal with Iran, it means Tehran has a say in Lebanese matters.”
Kuperwasser noted that Israel has lived under the shadow of Iran’s nuclear program since 1998, while noting that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is uniquely positioned to assess the issue given his decades of involvement. He said it remains unclear whether Netanyahu is satisfied with the outcome or what his final assessment will be.
ISRAELI OFFICIALS REPORTEDLY WARN IRAN’S BALLISTIC MISSILES COULD TRIGGER SOLO MILITARY ACTION AGAINST TEHRAN
Former Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, now leader of the opposition, referred Fox News Digital to his comments on X.
“The emerging agreement achieves none of Israel’s war goals. The regime survives, the missile program exists, and Iran can rebuild its nuclear program. This is a complete failure by Netanyahu, and in the process, he is turning us into a client state that takes orders about its national security,” he wrote.
A motorist rides past a banner featuring images of Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his son Mojtaba Khamenei along a street in Tehran on April 15, 2026. (AFP/Getty Images)
On March 19, Prime Minister Netanyahu outlined three war objectives for the U.S.-Israel joint operation against Iran: “One, removing the nuclear threat. Second, removing the ballistic missile threat and removing both of these threats before they’re buried deep underground and become immune from aerial attack. And third, this means creating the conditions for the Iranian people to grasp their freedom, to control their destiny,” the premier stated at the time.
Dr Meir Javedanfar, Iran lecturer at Reichman University, told Fox News Digital that Israel’s most immediate concern regarding the deal is the clause dealing with Lebanon.
“There is genuine concern that this could tie Israel’s hands,” he said. “An additional concern is that Hezbollah could use this clause to regroup and strengthen its armed forces and positions along the border with Israel.”
LETHAL ELITE ‘BLACK-CLAD’ KILL SQUAD GUARDS IRAN’S NEW SUPREME LEADER MOJTABA KHAMENEI
Javedanfar said it is too early to assess whether the deal would leave Israel in a significantly stronger position than the 2015 Obama-era nuclear agreement, citing the fate of Iran’s stockpile of 60% enriched uranium and its atomic infrastructure.
“Will Iran be allowed to continue enriching uranium on its soil? If yes, at what percentage? And how will the international community oversee Iran’s nuclear program? What kind of inspection program will they have? How intrusive will they be?” he added.
The Israel Defense Forces said its troops located and destroyed a Hezbollah underground command center with infrastructure about 8 meters below ground in South Lebanon. (IDF Spokesman’s Unit)
Israel’s controversial National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Monday insisted that the MOU does not bind the Jewish state. “Israel is not subject to the United States, and we are an independent and sovereign nation,” he tweeted, adding that Jerusalem’s duty is to its citizens, its soldiers and the Jewish people.”
He stated, “My position is clear: we are not partners to this agreement that does not ensure our security, and it does not bind us in any way,” he said, adding that while Israelis “love” the United States and “are grateful” to Trump, “the State of Israel is not a banana republic.”
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On Friday, Netanyahu’s office stated that “Even though Israel is not a party to the memorandum of understanding, the Prime Minister expressed his appreciation for President Trump’s commitment that the final agreement at the conclusion of negotiations will include the removal of enriched material, the dismantling of enrichment infrastructure, limits on missile production, and the cessation of Iran’s support for its terrorist proxies in the region.”
President Donald Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago on Dec. 29, 2025, to discuss Iran tensions and the Gaza peace plan. (Israel Government Press Office)
Quoting the prime minister, the statement added that “As long as I am the Prime Minister of Israel – Iran will not have nuclear weapons. President Trump and I are in full agreement on this issue. For over 30 years, I have been at the forefront of the international struggle against Iran’s nuclear program. Were it not for this struggle, Iran would have long ago possessed atomic bombs to destroy Israel. Iran is working to destroy the Jewish state, and I am dedicating my life to preventing them from doing so. As long as I am the Prime Minister of Israel, this will not happen.”
The UK says it’s banning access to social media for those under age 16.
The United Kingdom is the latest country to put in place tough restrictions for young people who use social media.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer says his government will ban access to those under the age of 16.
The plan will also include further restrictions on gaming platforms and livestreaming apps.
This follows moves from other nations that have introduced similar measures in recent years.
While the move has been widely welcomed by many, critics say a blanket ban will be ineffective and difficult to enforce.
But will this policy work? And how will it be enforced?
Presenter: Scott McLean
Guests:
Charlotte Armitage – Psychologist, psychotherapist and author of the book Generation Zombie: Why Devices Are Harming Our Children and What We Can Do About It
Paolo Gerbaudo – Sociologist and political theorist at Complutense University in Madrid
Bhargav Srinivasa Desikan – AI and tech lead at the Autonomy Institute and a doctoral researcher at the Oxford Internet Institute
Published On 15 Jun 2026
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