U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Senate Majority Whip, delivered remarks on the Senate floor criticizing Senate Democrats for their stance on government funding and healthcare access for undocumented immigrants. Barrasso accused Democrats of keeping the government closed in order to secure taxpayer-funded healthcare for people who entered the country illegally.
“Democrats have now shut down the government to defend a system where Laken Riley’s killer can get taxpayer-funded healthcare,” Barrasso said.
He referenced previous statements by Democratic presidential candidates from 2019, noting that all had indicated support for providing healthcare to undocumented immigrants. “Every one of them promised to give free healthcare to illegal immigrants,” he stated, naming Senators Bernie Sanders and Kirsten Gillibrand among those who expressed this position.
Barrasso pointed to California’s 2024 expansion of state-sponsored healthcare for undocumented immigrants under Governor Gavin Newsom, citing a Los Angeles Times report from March 2025 which stated that program costs reached $9.5 billion—three times higher than initial estimates. He claimed that California used increased federal Medicaid payments to help finance these costs, arguing this diverted resources from Americans reliant on Medicaid.
The senator also criticized President Joe Biden’s administration for creating parole programs he described as broad and improperly applied, making some noncitizens eligible for publicly funded healthcare. Barrasso referenced the case of Laken Riley, stating: “Joe Biden made Laken Riley’s killer eligible for taxpayer-funded healthcare.”
Barrasso said Republicans responded by closing what he called loopholes through new eligibility verification requirements and by ending policies allowing states like California to use federal Medicaid funds in this way. He credited former President Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem with terminating categorical parole programs and noted that the Supreme Court upheld this decision.
Summing up his argument, Barrasso stated: “By shutting down the government, Democrats are putting illegal immigrants ahead of American citizens. Ahead of our veterans. Ahead of our military. Ahead of our seniors. Ahead of our children.” He urged senators to vote in favor of a bipartisan continuing resolution passed by the House to reopen the government.
The Senate is scheduled to vote again on this measure, with Barrasso framing it as a choice between reopening the government or continuing its closure over disagreements about immigration policy and public benefits.
