Ritchie Torres, Scott Jennings spar over Medicaid cuts in 'big, beautiful bill'

Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) tore into CNN pundit Scott Jennings on Wednesday for defending the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s work requirements for Medicaid recipients — and for arguing that fellow Republicans merely “want to encourage people” to find employment.

The GOP tax and spending bill signed into law last week by President Donald Trump was estimated to slash federal Medicaid spending by $1 trillion, threatening rural hospitals that serve low-income patients enrolled in the government program.

Republicans have claimed that the Medicaid provisions will only target waste, fraud and abuse within the program. The bill creates a $50 billion fund called the Rural Health Transformation Program, however, which Torres noted during an appearance on “NewsNight” Wednesday.

“If the bill surgically targets fraud, waste and abuse, then why would it be necessary to set up a $50 billion fund for rural hospitals?” Torres asked on air. “Something does not add up here.”

The bill also contains a provision requiring certain Medicaid enrollees who don’t have young children and are considered able-bodied to prove they are employed, in school, in job training or volunteering more than 80 hours per month in order to receive their benefits. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates this requirement would strip 4.8 million people of their health insurance by 2034.

Jennings appeared to cite the analysis on Wednesday, but claimed these people “choose not to work” and suggested they deserve to lose their benefits.

“That is false,” Torres interrupted. “That is, like, a figment of your imagination.”

Jennings then held up his phone to claim the proof is “literally right here,” only for Torres to reply that the pro-Trump pundit is “misrepresenting the nature of that population.” Many people in the “nonworking population” aren’t receiving a paycheck because they are caregivers, Torres pointed out.

“Republicans want to encourage people to work,” Jennings replied. “You want to encourage people to be government-dependent.”

“The caregivers are working much harder than you are,” Torres fired back at Jennings.

More than 4 million family caregivers are Medicaid recipients, according to the American Association of Retired Persons. Justice in Aging, an organization dedicated to fighting poverty among senior citizens, said on its website that “requiring caregivers to work in paid employment or document their caregiving to maintain coverage would put many at risk of losing Medicaid.”

Watch the exchange below.