Sunday night, Republicans in Congress unveiled a budget plan that calls for $880 billion in cuts from the Medicaid program over ten years and part to pay for a proposed extension of the tax cut passed during Trump's first term.

Republicans, including Congressman Brat Guthrie of Kentucky's second district, say it's necessary because the Medicaid program is currently unsustainable.

Guthrie is chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the committee that handles health care spending.

That committee met this afternoon, and Congressman Guthrie discussed some of what his party hopes to accomplish.

We are prepared to stop the billions of dollars in waste, fraud and abuse in the Medicaid program by beginning to rein in the loopholes, by ensuring states have the flexibility to remove and eligible recipients from their rolls, and removing beneficiaries who are enrolled in multiple states.

These are all common sense policies that will return taxpayer dollars to middle class families.

Medicaid was created to protect health care for Americans who otherwise cannot support themselves.

But Democrats expanded the program far beyond this core mission.

That's why we are establishing common sense work requirements for capable but not working adults in the expansion population.

Moments after Guthrie concluded his remarks, the committee was interrupted by protesters.

I know right now that.

Can be done.

Democrats say the plan outlined by Republicans would cause millions of people to lose Medicaid coverage.

Last night, I asked our Kentucky Denied panel about the Medicaid proposal and how it would affect Americans if passed.

Why is this the way to go about, making room for tax cuts?

So I think that President Trump has been very clear with the Medicaid program that he believes that it should serve those who need it the most.

And we see a lot of programs, as we've discussed tonight, that have a lot of waste, fraud and abuse.

We have people who are perfectly able and capable of working, taking advantage of being on Medicaid.

We have people.

You look at New York and California, we have illegal immigrants who have been benefiting from Medicaid in their states.

And so I think what they're going to be looking at, and you know this better than everybody.

You get it in committee, and they're going to be looking at these cuts.

And until we see, I mean, the the the devil's in the details.

And then we'll see what comes out tomorrow.

But I think that there are certainly a lot of room for modifications and cuts in across the board with government and particularly Medicaid.

Donald Trump has said he doesn't want to cut Medicaid.

He said it over and over again.

And yet, the only way that Congress is going to be able to reach the the goals that the budget, have been set in order to pay for these tax cuts is to cut Medicaid and not just cut the the waste, fraud and abuse, which is which is, on the very top.

But to cut down to the muscle in the bone and, and so I unfortunately, Congressman Guthrie's got a very, awkward task ahead of him to try to both, appease what Trump is promising, but, to, live with the numbers that he's been left with.

And, and I don't think it's going to be possible.

Well, he did open in the Wall Street Journal.

He said that what the plan does preserves and strengthens Medicaid for children, mothers, people with disabilities and the elderly for whom the program was designed.

So he's saying that there is fear mongering going on with the Democrats and the rhetoric that it's not the goal to take people off Medicaid who deserve to be there.

Well, it's just going to be impossible to meet these, these, monetary, goals set by the budget and not cut people who are deserving of Medicaid, from from their roles.

It's just that the numbers don't work.

And, there's going to be a lot of people that are hurt as a result of that.

It was a wide ranging conversation last night about tariffs to the economy, illegal immigration, education and more.

And you can see it all online on demand at net.org/k y tonight.