Medicaid portal freeze sparks nationwide confusion with users in all 50 states locked out of accounts
MEDICAID recipients have been left begging for answers after the benefits portal went dark nationwide.
The outage came after President Donald Trump vowed not to touch the government program.
Reports of the outage rang out on Tuesday, and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt spent most of her first briefing explaining what was happening.
When journalists in the briefing room snapped at Leavitt, 27, for answers, she said individuals would be protected under Trump's plan.
Social Security, Medicare, food stamps, student loans, and scholarships are safe as the administration audits spending.
Despite this, state agencies struggled to access Medicaid money, which affected recipients, according to reports.
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After the briefing, Leavitt posted on X and said the White House was aware of the Medicaid portal outage.
"We have confirmed no payments have been affected - they are still being processed and sent," she wrote.
"We expect the portal will be back online shortly."
Leavitt defended Trump's plan and said the administration wants to be "good stewards" of taxpayer money.
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Earlier today, the White House confirmed that federal grants and loans would be put on pause as Trump's administration analyzes where to make cuts.
The cabinet is looking to slash progressive programs like diversity, education, and inclusion, which Trump says is a waste of resources.
FIERY FIRST BRIEFING
Leavitt also defended the deportation of thousands of illegal immigrants and warned foreigners to "think again" before crossing the US border.
"President Trump has sent a loud and clear message to the entire world," she said.
"America will no longer tolerate illegal immigration, and this president expects that every nation on this planet will cooperate with the repatriation of their citizens."
At the beginning of the conference, she addressed the drones that were spotted zooming over New Jersey.
TikTok, gender debate & JFK truth – the rest of Trump’s to-do list
BY Ellie Doughty, Foreign News Reporter
JFK ASSASSINATION
Trump promised to uncover a slew of classified documents on the assassinations of President John F Kennedy, Senator Robert Kennedy and Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King.
During his first term Trump did release some documents related to the fatal shooting of JFK in Dallas, Texas, 1963.
King and Robert Kennedy were both assassinated in 1968.
"In the coming days, we are going to make public remaining records related to the assassinations of President John F Kennedy, his brother Robert Kennedy, as well as Dr Martin Luther King Jr and other topics of great public interest," he said the day before his Inauguration.
Trump has not specified what kind of documents he hopes to release, but the JFK assassination in particular has been a long-term source of debate in the US.
A widespread conspiracy theory has suggested the involvement of the federal government or CIA in orchestrating and covering up his death.
TIKTOK BAN
Trump has hit repeatedly hit out at the plans to ban TikTok in the US - a wildly popular social media app with some 170million American users.
After national security concerns tied to its Chinese ownership, the app was briefly shut down across the country.
But mere hours after Trump promised to reinstate it after taking office, American users were able to get back online.
The app "welcomed back" American yesterday, lauding Trump as the reason for its return even before his official return to the Oval Office.
He then extended a 90-day period to keep it running.
GENDER DEBATE
Trump has previously vowed to reinstate a ban on transgender military service - something he brought in during his first term which Biden later axed.
He said at a rally in December: "With the stroke of my pen, on day one, we're going to stop the transgender lunacy."
He is also expected to ban transgender women from competing in women's sports, saying: "And I will sign executive orders to end child sexual mutilation, get transgender out of the military and out of our elementary schools and middle schools and high school.
"And we will keep men out of women's sports. And that will likewise be done on Day One."
CLIMATE CRUNCH
Trump has also promised to look at cost of living efforts and visit Los Angeles in the wake of recent devastating wildfires.
And he is expected to overturn President Biden's climate policies - including on the regulation of pollution or green job efforts.
It could also stretch to a ban on new wind projects or electric vehicle mandates.
He has already pulled out of the Paris Climate Agreement - just as he did in 2017, before Biden rejoined in 2021.
She reiterated the same message that's been issued by public officials and said foreign entities weren't flying the drones.
The majority were authorized to be flown by the Federal Aviation Administration, and the rest were "hobbyists."
"In time, it got worse due to curiosity," she said.
"This was not the enemy."
Leavitt also explained why the press room looked far different from when Joe Biden was president.
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She said that "new media," including influencers and independent journalists, are now welcome to apply for a pass.
Throughout the meeting, she spoke to legacy media stations like CBS along with nontraditional outlets like Breitbart.