Demonstrators calling for preservation of Medicaid funding, are removed from the House Energy and Commerce markup of the FY2025 budget resolution in Rayburn building on Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
A Capitol police officer confirmed to Fox News Digital that disruptors were arrested for protesting and would be processed and released immediately. Many protesters remained in the hallway during the first few hours of the markup as others were removed for shouting during the representative's testimonies and subsequently arrested.
ANTI-ABORTION PROVIDER MEASURE IN TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL' COULD SPARK HOUSE GOP REBELLION
"The audience is supportive that you're all here and participating. We want you here. You're part of the process. We want you to be here, but we have to proceed. And the rules of the House, and the law is that – if you're disruptive, you'll be removed, and you're subject to arrest. I don't make that decision, the Capitol Police does," Kentucky Republican Rep. Brett Guthrie, Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, said following one of several disruptions by protesters.
Inside the budget markup, Democrats and Republicans sparred over rhetoric about Medicaid cuts. Democrats claimed the Republican budget bill would cut vital access to Medicaid, with many representatives sharing stories of their constituents who have benefited from its services. Meanwhile, Republicans accused Democrats of lying to the American people about Medicaid cuts – a word Guthrie deterred his colleagues from using.
"I want to send one very clear message: you're being lied to. The other side is telling you a lot of things about this legislation. I'm not sure they have read this legislation," Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., who chairs the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee, said.
Republicans mostly avoided the deep cuts to Medicaid pushed by fiscal conservatives in the House Republican Conference, which could serve to benefit moderate Republicans who have fielded relentless attacks from Democrats over potential Medicaid cuts. House Republicans, however, have vowed to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse in the Medicaid program.
Protesters disrupted the House Energy and Commerce's budget reconciliation markup on Tuesday. (Fox News Digital) (Fox News Digital)
"They are cutting this Medicaid care and these Medicaid dollars to pay for tax cuts for Elon Musk and billionaires, so this money isn't even going towards funding better care for people who are eligible… We are cutting money and health care from people and families who are suffering, to pay for tax cuts for the rich. It is a crime happening in front of the American public right now," Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said.
The proposed legislation would put a new 80-hour-per-month work requirement on certain able-bodied adults receiving Medicaid, aged 19 through 64.
It would also put guardrails on states spending funds on their expanded Medicaid populations. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) allowed states to expand Medicaid coverage to adults who make up to 138% of the poverty level.
Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., right, and Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., attend the House Energy and Commerce markup of the FY2025 budget resolution in Rayburn building on Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
More specifically, states that provide Medicaid coverage to illegal immigrants could see their federal Medicaid reimbursement dollars diminished, putting more of that cost on the state itself.
The bill would also require states with expanded Medicaid populations to perform eligibility checks every six months to ensure the system is not being abused.
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The Energy & Commerce Committee, which has broad jurisdiction, including over federal health programs, telecommunications and energy, was tasked with finding at least $880 billion in spending cuts to pay for other priorities in Trump's "big, beautiful bill."
Guthrie told House Republicans on a lawmaker-only call on Sunday night that the panel had found "north of $900 billion" in savings.
Deirdre Heavey is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/capitol-police-arrest-protesters-disrupting-budget-markup-cory-booker-thanks-them-defending-medicaid