In response to Karoline Leavitt admitting that Senate Republicans are doing Trump’s bidding with major cuts to Medicaid in the GOP budget bill, DNC Communications Director Rosemary Boeglin issued the following statement:

“Karoline Leavitt told the truth for once — Donald Trump is behind Senate Republicans’ efforts to slash Medicaid. As Trump prepares to go on a roadshow in vulnerable Republican districts this summer to try to sell the most regressive budget bill in 40 years, the 16 million Americans who are about to lose health care coverage will know exactly who is responsible.” 

WATCH: Karoline Leavitt admits Senate Republicans are doing Trump’s bidding in slashing Medicaid in the GOP budget bill — the most regressive budget in 40 years.

Reporter: “[I]f the final bill that the president’s been talking about comes to him and it has Medicaid cuts in it, will he sign it or would he rather just Congress do away with those cuts?”

Karoline Leavitt: “I think our friends in both the Senate and the House know exactly where the president stands on Medicaid. He wants to get rid of the waste, fraud, and abuse and they are working to do that in the Senate right now.”  

Washington Center for Equitable Growth: “Congressional Republicans’ budget bill is the most regressive in at least 40 years”

“If enacted, our calculations show that the current bill would reduce income among the poorest 20 percent of Americans by an average of 3.8 percent while increasing it by 3.7 percent for the richest 20 percent—a difference of 7.5 percentage points.”

FACT CHECK: The GOP’s disastrous budget has little to do with eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse — and everything to do with slashing Medicaid benefits.  

New York Times: “Trump and Allies Sell Domestic Policy Bill With Falsehoods”

“As the Senate considers a domestic policy bill to enact the White House’s agenda, President Trump and his allies have sought to assuage some lawmakers’ concerns over its price tag and cuts to Medicaid with inaccurate claims.

“They have dismissed estimates of the effect of the ‘one big, beautiful bill’ on the deficit as incorrect and described cuts to the health insurance program for poor Americans as simply trimming ‘waste, fraud and abuse.’ … 

“But most of the changes to Medicaid have little to do with waste, fraud or abuse as defined by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service. … 

“But most other provisions fit into several categories of cuts and restrictions, according to Professor Park [at Georgetown University whose research focuses on Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program], targeting Medicaid expansion, limiting states’ ability to finance Medicaid, imposing red tape on beneficiaries, rolling back protections against medical debt, forcing states to drop coverage, and limiting access to care and long-term care.

“‘These are cuts that will take away coverage and access from many millions of low-income Medicaid beneficiaries,’ he said. ‘One cannot credibly claim that these provisions involve curbing “fraud, waste and abuse.”’’’

POLL: A majority of Americans oppose Trump’s disastrous billionaire-first budget — a number that only rises when people learn what’s in the bill.  

• An overwhelming majority of Americans, including one in three Republicans, disapprove of Trump’s billionaire-first budget
• 59% of Americans oppose the GOP’s budget bill, with only 23% saying the proposal will help their family and 49% saying it will hurt them
• 52% of Americans believe the budget proposal will make the economy worse, including one in four Republicans and 56% of independents
• 64% of Americans hold an unfavorable opinion of the GOP’s tax and budget bill, including 34% of Republicans 
• When people hear about the bill’s drastic health care cuts, support shrinks, and opposition grows — including among Trump’s own supporters
• After being told that the bill would decrease funding for local hospitals, favorability of the bill falls to 21% while unfavorability rises to 79%