Senator Elizabeth Warren forcefully shut down CBS anchor Tony Dokoupil for repeating a Trump-aligned talking point about Democrats funding health care for undocumented immigrants, calling it a
“flat-out lie.”
During a heated exchange on CBS Mornings, Warren interrupted Dokoupil when he suggested that Republican claims, framing the shutdown fight as Democrats wanting to
“give all these illegal aliens free health care”,
were not strictly true.
Warren responded sharply:
“It is a flat-out lie!
There is nothing in Medicaid, nothing in Medicare, that permits one undocumented immigrant to get one dollar of assistance! None! Zero!”
Dokoupil tried to clarify that the Democratic counteroffer included restoring Medicaid reimbursements for hospitals treating noncitizens, which Republicans had slashed in their
“Big, Beautiful Bill.”
Warren pushed back again, explaining that the Democratic proposal does not change who receives care, but rather how hospitals are reimbursed for emergency services, especially in rural areas where underfunding could lead to closures.
Warren emphasized that the GOP’s framing is not just misleading—it’s dangerous.
She tied the shutdown tactics to Project 2025, accusing Trump and Russ Vought of weaponizing budget cuts to inflict pain on vulnerable Americans for political gain.
“Donald Trump has already illegally fired tens of thousands of federal employees,” she said, “and now he wants to impose as much pain as possible just so he can win a political battle.”
This moment underscores the broader fight:
Democrats are trying to preserve health care access and prevent hospital bankruptcies, while Republicans refuse to negotiate, using inflammatory rhetoric to justify austerity.
Warren’s refusal to let misinformation slide reflects a growing urgency to confront propaganda head-on, especially when it risks real harm.