Vice President JD Vance is pushing back against Democratic claims that their policies do not extend healthcare benefits to illegal aliens, pointing to two taxpayer-funded programs that were eliminated when President Donald Trump took office.
Speaking on the ongoing debate over government funding, Vance said Democrats are attempting to obscure what their legislation explicitly included.
“This is a Democrat talking point. They say we’re not actually trying to give healthcare benefits to illegal aliens. And here’s why. It’s not true,” Vance said.
He explained that two programs created during the Biden-Harris administration directed federal taxpayer dollars toward healthcare for illegal aliens.
“There are two Biden era programs that explicitly gave the taxpayer healthcare money to illegal aliens that we turned off when President Trump took over in January,” Vance stated.
Vance detailed the first program, which funded emergency hospital care for illegal aliens at the federal level.
“Program number one is there’s a lot of emergency health care at hospitals that are provided to illegal aliens that was funded by the federal government. We turned off that funding because, of course, we want American citizens to benefit from those hospital services, not to be taxed, and then to have those hospital services go to illegal aliens,” he said.
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The second program involved healthcare access for individuals released into the United States under mass parole.
“The second of which is the Biden administration gave mass parole to millions upon millions of illegal aliens, and then they simultaneously made those parolees eligible for health care benefits funded by taxpayers in the one big, beautiful Bill President Trump and congressional Republicans turned off that money to health care funding for illegal aliens,” Vance said.
According to the vice president, Democrats attempted to reinstate both programs in their initial government funding proposal.
“The Democrats want to turn it back on, and in their initial proposal, the first thing that they put out to reopen the government, they actually turned that money for health care benefits for illegal aliens back on. So it’s not something that we made up. It’s not a talking point. It is in the text of the bill that they initially gave to us to reopen the government. It’s preposterous for them to run away from it now,” Vance said.
Despite the disagreement, Vance said he is willing to negotiate with Democrats on broader healthcare issues that directly affect American citizens.
“But look, let’s set that all to the side. Let’s open up the government. Let’s negotiate on all these health care policy issues. Obviously, we’re not going to support health care benefits for illegal aliens, but we will work with them to lower health care costs for American citizens, if they’re willing to do so,” he said.
.@VP nukes the Democrat lie that they aren’t trying to give free health care to illegals:
“It’s not something that we made up. It’s not a talking point. It is in the text of the bill that they initially gave to us to reopen the government.” pic.twitter.com/regw9fGH1i
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 1, 2025
Vance’s comments highlight the ongoing divide between the administration and Democrats over government funding, immigration policy, and the use of taxpayer resources.
With negotiations continuing, the status of these programs and broader healthcare policy remains central to the debate over reopening the government.
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