“Californians should not be forced to shoulder the burden of radical Democrats’ reckless financial mismanagement,” responded Minority Leader Brian Jones.
Last week, Governor Gavin Newsom confirmed that California will continue to cover the healthcare costs of undocumented immigrants in the state. If his most recent loan request is approved, this action will rob California taxpayers of another $2.8 billion.
During the interview with California Capitol Correspondent Ashley Zavala, which she posted on Twitter/X, the Governor stated that he expects the request for this loan to be the last of the fiscal year, in hopes that it will cover Medi-Cal costs until June. In a broad statement, he claimed that he “believes in universal healthcare,” but has been heavily criticized due to his mismanagement of funds, benefitting the wellbeing of those who are not even legal residents of the state. He even deliberately changed the subject of the interview by criticizing President Trump’s administration for going after artificial food dyes, which is something he claimed to have spoken out against years prior.
Fellow Twitter/X users replied to Zavala’s post to show their discontentment with Newsom’s handling of healthcare funds. “Gavin doesn’t care about the hard working Americans of this state who are struggling & have to pay for this, he never has,” one user writes. “He should be in jail for spending our tax dollars to support illegals,” says another.
Users such as these may be shocked to learn that an astounding 1.6 million out of 15 million recipients of Medi-Cal benefits in California are undocumented citizens. With that in mind, $2.8 billion is by no means a meager sum, but it represents just a fraction of the money being spent on illegal immigrants in the Golden State. Newsom’s administration has estimated that a staggering $9.5 billion of taxpayer money has been spent during the fiscal year on Medi-Cal for those without citizenship.
“That’s a staggering $6.2 billion over budget… and the costs keep climbing with no end in sight,” stated Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones. “Californians should not be forced to shoulder the burden of radical Democrats’ reckless financial mismanagement.”
Governor Newsom is aware of this concerning issue but has not announced any plans to make the necessary changes. He has even admitted that Californians do indeed pay such high prices for their own coverage because of the fact that illegal immigrants are allowed to take part in the program. But will he end it? “Not on my docket,” the governor told reporters.
Clearly, Republican lawmakers feel otherwise. “We must immediately rescind the coverage to illegal immigrants in the state of California, we simply can’t afford it,” said Assemblyman Carl DeMaio. “It’s not just put the health coverage of poor Californians—elderly, disabled, young children—at risk because California politicians want to give handouts to people who aren’t even citizens.”
“You may have removed me from the budget committee, but you will not deter me from getting the truth out to the taxpayers in California about your wasteful spending and your money laundering of taxpayer money to far left-wing political groups,” DeMaio said of Newsom during a recent Fox News Digital interview. “The reason why all Americans should be carefully watching what’s going on in California is that the bad ideas coming to your state actually usually get their start in California… They use California as a petri dish for their far left-wing extremist ideas, and then they export these bad ideas to other states, and they claim that it’s successful out here.”
In an attempt to quell concerns, Newsom spokesperson Izzy Gordon issued a vague and noncommittal statement. “With tough fiscal choices ahead, Governor Newsom—jointly with Pro Tem McGuire and Speaker Rivas—will evaluate proposals to rein in long-term spending—including in Medi-Cal—while working to protect the core health and social services Californians rely on.”
To California taxpayers: believe it when you see it.
