House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) stated on Sunday that protecting Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid is a “top priority” for the White House and congressional Republicans.
In an interview on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” with host Maria Bartiromo, Johnson discussed the recently-passed budget reconciliation framework, which sets the stage for President Donald Trump’s proposed comprehensive bill to advance his domestic priorities.
“Well, here’s the key to all of it. The president has made absolutely clear many times, as we have as well, that we’re going to protect Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid for people who are legally beneficiaries of those programs,” Johnson replied. “There are a lot of Americans who rely upon those programs, and we have got to ensure that they’re safeguarded. That’s a big priority of the White House and the Republicans in Congress.”
Today, exclusively on @SundayFutures with @MariaBartiromo, House Speaker Mike Johnson @SpeakerJohnson spoke about Congress advancing a blueprint of President Trump's agenda.@FoxNews pic.twitter.com/WbvVwgZwnz
— SundayMorningFutures (@SundayFutures) April 13, 2025
He continued: “At the same time, we have to root out fraud, waste, and abuse. We have to eliminate people on — for example, on Medicaid, who are not actually eligible to be there, able-bodied workers, for example, young men who are — who should never be on the program at all.”
Johnson was responding to Bartiromo asking the question: “So knowing that 76% of the spending goes toward mandatory spending, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, where are the offsets?”
Democrats have warned that Republicans, led by Trump and influenced by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) effort overseen by Elon Musk, are working to dismantle the various programs in a move that would harm millions of seniors, people with disabilities, and other Americans who are reliant on the benefits they offer.
Johnson argued that preserving resources for those who truly need them — such as young single mothers, people with disabilities, and the elderly on Medicaid — requires preventing others from “draining” these programs.
“We have got to protect and preserve that program,” Johnson said. “So we’re going to preserve the integrity of it in this process. We have lots of categories of areas where the government is too large, it does too many things. And the DOGE efforts and others have highlighted that for the American people.”
