Vice President JD Vance is facing intense backlash after dismissing deep cuts to Medicaid as “minutiae” while defending President Donald Trump’s embattled “One Big, Beautiful Bill” (OBBB), which is teetering on the edge of failure in the Senate.
As the Senate underwent a marathon session to push the massive spending package forward, Vance took to social media late Monday to rally support. The bill is expected to pass—or fail—by the slimmest of margins, with Vance ready to cast the tie-breaking vote if needed.
“The thing that will bankrupt this country more than any other policy is flooding the country with illegal immigration and then giving those migrants generous benefits. The OBBB fixes this problem. And therefore it must pass,” Vance wrote.
However, critics quickly pushed back on Vance’s claim. Numerous studies—including reports from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO)—have found that undocumented immigrants typically contribute more in taxes than they receive in federal benefits, helping reduce the federal deficit by nearly $1 trillion over a decade.
But it was Vance’s next comment that drew the sharpest criticism.
“Everything else—the CBO score, the proper baseline, the minutiae of the Medicaid policy—is immaterial compared to the ICE money and immigration enforcement provisions.”
That line sparked outrage from across the political spectrum.
“Here is the vice president of the U.S. saying Trump’s signature bill that kicks ~17M people off of health care, takes food away from poor children, adds $4T to the debt, and kills the clean energy industry only really matters because it helps ICE detain and deport brown people,” wrote HuffPost’s Jennifer Bendery.
Vox editor Dylan Scott added, “Thousands of projected deaths per year is ‘immaterial.’”
Adam Cohen, vice chair of Lawyers for Good Government, highlighted the real-world consequences of the bill: “Experts calculate that the Big Ugly Bill will kill 51,000 people each year. The CBO determined it will cause 11.8 million Americans to lose Medicaid. Unions say it will cost millions of jobs. And it will literally take food from hungry kids. But to JD Vance, this is immaterial.”
Journalist Zaid Jilani pushed back on Vance’s logic: “If millions lose Medicaid coverage, ramping up deportations won’t give them health insurance. It’s not ‘minutiae.’”
Even the financials don’t align with Vance’s argument. Attorney Aaron Reichlin-Melnick pointed out that while the immigration provisions would cost over $125 billion, Medicaid cuts total nearly $1 trillion—raising questions about the bill’s actual fiscal priorities.
Ernie Tedeschi, former Chief Economist at the White House Council of Economic Advisors, added: “Deporting immigrants does not improve fiscal health. The CBO found undocumented immigrants reduce the deficit.”
David J. Bier, Director of Immigration Studies at the libertarian Cato Institute, was blunt: “Deportations are removing net taxpayers. Even eliminating all benefits to noncitizens wouldn’t solve the deficit. The real threat is population decline.”
Critics accused Vance of scapegoating immigrants while defending what economist Tony Annett described as “the largest upward redistribution in history.”
“This is what hitting the panic button looks like,” said Matt Duss of the Center for International Policy, referring to the vice president’s prioritization of immigration enforcement over healthcare and fiscal impact.
As the bill nears a final vote, critics say Vance’s comments reveal the administration’s real priorities—and just how far they’re willing to go to push them through.
