In a tense confrontation on Fox News, House Speaker Mike Johnson and host John Roberts clashed over whether Democrats are driving a government shutdown to fund healthcare for undocumented immigrants, as the Daily Caller reports.

The dispute unfolded after Senate Democrats, under Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, rejected a Republican spending plan, leading to a federal government shutdown at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday.

On Tuesday evening, Senate Republicans sought to pass a spending agreement to avoid a government closure, but could not secure sufficient Democratic support.

Shutdown ignites fierce partisan debate

Led by Schumer, Democrats’ opposition forced the shutdown, heightening friction over fiscal priorities between the two parties.

Later that day, during an interview on Special Report with Bret Baier, Roberts challenged Johnson on Democratic assertions that their legislation does not include healthcare funding for undocumented immigrants.

Johnson rebuffed these claims, arguing that Democrats are unaware of their own proposal’s implications and directed attention to specific provisions as proof.

Decoding murky legislative text

“I say they obviously have not read their bill,” Johnson stated, encouraging the public to review page 57 of Schumer’s draft, particularly Section 2141, which he said aims to reverse Republican health reforms.

Roberts pushed back on the readability of the text, remarking, “I read that whole section. It might as well be written in Mandarin.”

Johnson clarified that Section 2141 targets the repeal of changes from the Republican-drafted “Big, Beautiful Bill,” which focused on stricter Medicaid eligibility rules.

Medicaid policy fuels arguments

He emphasized that these Republican reforms were intended to bolster Medicaid by excluding those not qualified for the program.

Johnson referenced an Aug. 25 Congressional Budget Office letter, projecting that 2.3 million ineligible individuals, including many undocumented immigrants, would be removed from Medicaid, saving $185 billion in public funds.

He accused Democrats of seeking to undo these measures, which would allow ineligible recipients back into the program.

Political blame game heats up

On Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance spoke on Fox & Friends, claiming Democrats want to restore a Biden-era initiative that funded healthcare for undocumented immigrants, a policy halted during the Trump administration.

In a sharp rebuttal on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Schumer dismissed the Republican allegations as “a total, absolute, effing lie.”

He further criticized Republicans for damaging national healthcare systems and accused them of dodging the real issues at hand.