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Capitol Police arrest protesters disrupting budget markup as Cory Booker thanks them for defending Medicaid
More than two dozen protesters were arrested for disrupting the House Energy and Commerce’s budget reconciliation markup on Tuesday, as Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., thanked those holding court in the hallway.
«Around 2 p.m., 26 people were arrested for illegally demonstrating in the Rayburn House Office Building. They were arrested for 22-1307 Crowding, Obstructing, and Incommoding. It is against the law to protest inside the Congressional Buildings,» the U.S. Capitol Police Department told Fox News Digital.
Dozens of protesters, many in wheelchairs, filled the halls outside the John D. Dingell Room in the Rayburn House Office Building on Tuesday afternoon, chanting, «No cuts to Medicaid!» Several protesters, who were blocking the entrance to the committee room, were wheeled away and arrested by Capitol police after multiple warnings.
A defiant Booker walked by the budget markup during its first hour and was greeted by the cheers and whistles of those protesting Medicaid cuts. Booker, who spent more than 12 hours protesting President Donald Trump’s agenda on the steps of the U.S. Capitol just two weeks ago, thanked the protesters for showing up to protect Medicaid.
HOUSE GOP UNVEILS MEDICAID WORK REQUIREMENTS IN TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’
Demonstrators calling for preservation of Medicaid funding, are removed from the House Energy and Commerce markup of the FY2025 budget resolution in Rayburn building on Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
A Capitol police officer confirmed to Fox News Digital that disruptors were arrested for protesting and would be processed and released immediately. Many protesters remained in the hallway during the first few hours of the markup as others were removed for shouting during the representative’s testimonies and subsequently arrested.
ANTI-ABORTION PROVIDER MEASURE IN TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ COULD SPARK HOUSE GOP REBELLION
«The audience is supportive that you’re all here and participating. We want you here. You’re part of the process. We want you to be here, but we have to proceed. And the rules of the House, and the law is that – if you’re disruptive, you’ll be removed, and you’re subject to arrest. I don’t make that decision, the Capitol Police does,» Kentucky Republican Rep. Brett Guthrie, Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, said following one of several disruptions by protesters.
Inside the budget markup, Democrats and Republicans sparred over rhetoric about Medicaid cuts. Democrats claimed the Republican budget bill would cut vital access to Medicaid, with many representatives sharing stories of their constituents who have benefited from its services. Meanwhile, Republicans accused Democrats of lying to the American people about Medicaid cuts – a word Guthrie deterred his colleagues from using.
«I want to send one very clear message: you’re being lied to. The other side is telling you a lot of things about this legislation. I’m not sure they have read this legislation,» Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., who chairs the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee, said.
Republicans mostly avoided the deep cuts to Medicaid pushed by fiscal conservatives in the House Republican Conference, which could serve to benefit moderate Republicans who have fielded relentless attacks from Democrats over potential Medicaid cuts. House Republicans, however, have vowed to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse in the Medicaid program.
Protesters staked out the House Energy and Commerce’s budget reconciliation markup on Tuesday. (Fox News Digital)
The committee’s budget markup includes increased regulations and program cuts to Medicaid, including tightened address verification requirements, ensuring deceased individuals are not enrolled, more provider screening requirements, removing excess Medicaid payments, revising home equity limits for determining eligibility, prohibiting illegal immigrants from obtaining Medicaid services, ensuring accurate payments, prohibiting funding for gender transition procedures for minors and requirements for states to establish Medicaid community engagement programs.
«This budget does not cut Medicaid, Medicare or Social Security benefits for the Americans who truly need them. We are strengthening and protecting Medicaid for pregnant women, children, individuals with disabilities, low-income seniors and vulnerable families. These Americans will continue to have access to the care they need and deserve. What we are doing is eliminating waste, fraud and abuse,» Rep. Erin Houchin, R-Indiana, told the committee.
But despite Republicans’ assurances that the proposed budget does not cut Medicaid, Democrats testified, one after the other, about the threats program cuts pose to Americans.
Protesters disrupted the House Energy and Commerce’s budget reconciliation markup on Tuesday. (Fox News Digital) (Fox News Digital)
«They are cutting this Medicaid care and these Medicaid dollars to pay for tax cuts for Elon Musk and billionaires, so this money isn’t even going towards funding better care for people who are eligible… We are cutting money and health care from people and families who are suffering, to pay for tax cuts for the rich. It is a crime happening in front of the American public right now,» Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said.
The proposed legislation would put a new 80-hour-per-month work requirement on certain able-bodied adults receiving Medicaid, aged 19 through 64.
It would also put guardrails on states spending funds on their expanded Medicaid populations. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) allowed states to expand Medicaid coverage to adults who make up to 138% of the poverty level.
Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., right, and Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., attend the House Energy and Commerce markup of the FY2025 budget resolution in Rayburn building on Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
More specifically, states that provide Medicaid coverage to illegal immigrants could see their federal Medicaid reimbursement dollars diminished, putting more of that cost on the state itself.
The bill would also require states with expanded Medicaid populations to perform eligibility checks every six months to ensure the system is not being abused.
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The Energy & Commerce Committee, which has broad jurisdiction, including over federal health programs, telecommunications and energy, was tasked with finding at least $880 billion in spending cuts to pay for other priorities in Trump’s «big, beautiful bill.»
Guthrie told House Republicans on a lawmaker-only call on Sunday night that the panel had found «north of $900 billion» in savings.
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WATCH: GOP senators divided over whether Epstein documents are a distraction or a needed reckoning
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Republican senators offered a range of responses when pressed on how the Trump administration has been handling the Epstein files controversy, with some calling it a distraction and others arguing the American people are «entitled» to answers.
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the «first phase» of declassified files related to Jeffrey Epstein Feb. 27, noting the move was following through on President Donald Trump’s commitment to «lifting the veil» on Epstein and his co-conspirator’s actions. Bondi also said the same month she was in possession of an Epstein «client list.»
However, the February declassification contained mostly information and files that had already been publicly available, and the Justice Department subsequently indicated that no «client list» exists. Since then, a series of events, including a clash between FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino and Attorney General Bondi, have led to mounting pressure on the Trump administration to release more files.
‘NOT GOING AWAY’: INSIDE THE EPSTEIN DRAMA THAT’S THROWN HOUSE GOP INTO CHAOS
Trump’s relationship with Epstein has come under more scrutiny after his DOJ under Attorney General Pam Bondi recently said there is no Epstein «client list.» (Getty Images)
«This is factual. Epstein trafficked a lot of young women, some of whom were minors. The American people are entitled to know who — if anyone — he trafficked these young women to, besides himself, and why they weren’t prosecuted,» John Kennedy, R-La., said.
«Now that’s a very simple question that’s at the bottom of all of this. The Department of Justice is going to have to answer that question to the satisfaction of the American people.»
TABLES TURN AS HOUSE GOP BLASTS DEMS FOR SUDDENLY DEMANDING EPSTEIN TRANSPARENCY FROM TRUMP ADMIN
Kennedy’s call for transparency comes after the president described the Epstein situation as a «hoax» while blasting Democrats and other «weaklings» who continue to buy into it.
«Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this ‘bull—-,’ hook, line, and sinker,» Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform last month amid mounting reports of internal division within the administration over its handling of the Epstein case
When asked about how the Trump administration was handling the Epstein furor, Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., said he thought the situation was being used by Democrats to create a «distraction» from the ongoing investigations into former President Biden and others, like the probe related to Biden’s use of an autopen tool to sign important documents and the investigation into whether Obama-era officials manufactured evidence to accuse Trump of Russian collusion.
Senators Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., left, and John Kennedy, R-La., shared their takes on how the Trump administration is handling the Epstein controversy. (Getty Images)
«Look what’s being investigated right now through the Biden administration. … So, what are they going to talk about now?» Mullin asked. «This is nothing but a distraction from the actual facts that is coming out about the Biden administration. Of course, the Democrats say, ‘Well, we’re just about transparency.’ Well, where was the transparency the last four years?»
Democrats have suggested Trump could be implicated in the files, but Mullin said that if such a circumstance were true, the information would have been leaked by the Biden administration.
Mullin’s counterpart in the Senate, Republican Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford took more of a middle ground in his response about how the administration has been handling the Epstein files.
Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., left, and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, talk as they head to the U.S. Capitol for votes July 31, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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«The challenge is there are people that are victims that are in it, and there are folks that are not criminals that are in it as well,» Lankford said. «And the challenge the Department of Justice has is you’ve got a girl that was 14, 16 years old and was abused. Well, now she’s, let’s say 26 or 30, married and has children.
«Maybe her family knows about this, maybe they don’t. I don’t know the situation, but we gotta figure out a way to be able to protect those folks that are genuine victims on all this as well as getting out as much information as you possibly can.»
For Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, the debate about the Epstein files was not something she was interested in talking about when approached by Fox News Digital.
«I’m going,» Collins responded when pressed on the matter outside the Capitol complex.
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INTERNACIONAL
El líder de la ONU advirtió sobre una “peligrosa escalada” tras la decisión de Israel de tomar la ciudad de Gaza
El secretario general de la Organización de las Naciones Unidas (ONU), António Guterres, expresó este viernes su preocupación tras la decisión de Israel de extender su ofensiva militar en la Franja de Gaza y asumir el control de la ciudad de Gaza, la mayor aglomeración del enclave palestino.
Según un comunicado leído por su portavoz adjunta, Stephanie Tremblay, Guterres considera que esta medida “marca una peligrosa escalada” en el conflicto y pone “aún más en peligro” a los civiles en la región, incluidos los rehenes en manos de terroristas palestinos.
En palabras de Tremblay, Guterres “está profundamente alarmado por la decisión del Gobierno israelí sobre ‘tomar el control de la ciudad de Gaza’”, y advirtió que esto podría “agravar las ya catastróficas consecuencias de millones de palestinos”.
El secretario general subrayó que los palestinos en Gaza “siguen padeciendo una catástrofe humanitaria de proporciones terroríficas”, al tiempo que señaló que una nueva ofensiva podría “provocar un nuevo desplazamiento forzado, muertes y destrucción masiva, suponiendo un sufrimiento inimaginable a la población palestina”.
El conflicto en la Franja de Gaza se acerca a los dos años y, según declaraciones oficiales, la decisión del gabinete de seguridad del primer ministro israelí, Benjamin Netanyahu, añade tensión a la ya inestable situación.
El Consejo de Seguridad de la ONU anunció la convocatoria de una reunión de urgencia para este sábado, con el objetivo de abordar el nuevo plan israelí tras solicitudes de varios miembros, según informaron fuentes diplomáticas a la AFP. “Varios países en nuestro nombre y en el suyo propio están solicitando una reunión del Consejo de Seguridad”, declaró este viernes el representante palestino ante la ONU, Ryad Mansour.
Guterres reiteró su llamado a un alto el fuego y a facilitar la entrada de ayuda humanitaria, exhortando a las autoridades israelíes a cumplir con sus obligaciones conforme al Derecho Humanitario Internacional. “No habrá una solución sostenible a este conflicto sin el fin de la ocupación ilegal y una solución viable de dos Estados. Gaza es y debe seguir siendo parte integral de un Estado palestino”, afirmó el secretario general.
Adicionalmente, Guterres recordó que la Corte Internacional de Justicia (CIJ) exige a Israel “poner fin a su presencia ilegal en los territorios palestinos ocupados –que abarca Gaza y Cisjordania, incluida Jerusalén Este– lo antes posible”.
En el ámbito humanitario, Tremblay confirmó el encuentro celebrado el miércoles entre personal de la ONU y representantes de la Fundación Humanitaria de Gaza (GHF, por sus siglas en inglés), entidad respaldada por Israel y Estados Unidos desde mayo para la distribución de alimentos en la zona. La portavoz explicó que la reunión, impulsada por la Misión de EEUU ante la ONU, abordó “la grave situación humanitaria en Gaza”.
“Con prácticamente toda la población de Gaza al borde de la hambruna, damos la bienvenida a cualquiera que eleve su voz para llegar urgentemente con asistencia humanitaria a los civiles de Gaza. Pero ya tenemos un plan basado en principios humanitarios reconocidos globalmente”, explicó Tremblay.
Según el Ministerio de Sanidad palestino, cientos de personas han muerto por disparos del Ejército israelí o a consecuencia de disturbios cuando buscaban ayuda en los centros de la GHF, ubicados en áreas bajo control militar israelí. Una reciente investigación de Médicos Sin Fronteras (MSF) sostiene que estos centros ‘son lugares de asesinatos orquestados y deshumanización’ y pide su cierre. Además, un grupo de 25 relatores y expertos de la ONU solicitó esta semana el desmantelamiento de la GHF, creada por Israel en febrero de 2025 con apoyo de EEUU.
La ONU mantiene que su “plan funciona” y ofrece puntos de distribución en todo el territorio, donde las personas pueden recibir asistencia humanitaria de manera segura. Preguntada por los principios que rigen el trabajo de la GHF, Tremblay respondió: “Creo que puedes ver lo que está pasando en Gaza día a día”.
El aumento de la ofensiva y el control de Israel sobre la ciudad de Gaza han avivado la preocupación internacional. Con el Consejo de Seguridad preparado para abordar la situación, la comunidad internacional aguarda las próximas decisiones respecto al futuro del enclave y la respuesta humanitaria en la región.
(Con información de AFP, EFE y EP)
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