The Daily Populous Monday December 9th, 2024 day edition
Authored by abcnews.go.com and submitted by OkayButFoRealz

Khanna tells "This Week" that "I believe we can make Medicare for all happen."

Rep. Ro Khanna: US should be moving toward Medicare for all to cure inequities

After an onslaught of criticism toward the insurance industry following the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., expressed sympathy for the victim, but acknowledged the debate it sparked over inequities in the health care system.

"There is no justification for violence," Khanna told ABC "This Week" anchor Martha Raddatz. "But the outpouring afterwards has not surprised me."

Thompson's killing led to an ongoing massive manhunt for the suspected killer and sparked rampant discussion online about the cost of health care and the insurance industry in the United States.

Khanna said he agrees with the assessment of independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, who wrote: "We waste hundreds of billions a year on health care administrative expenses that make insurance CEOs and wealthy stockholders incredibly rich while 85 million Americans go uninsured or underinsured. Health care is a human right. We need Medicare for All."

Rep. Ro Khanna appears on "This Week," Dec. 8. 2024. ABC News

Khanna said that the U.S. should be moving toward Medicare for all.

"After years, Sanders is winning this debate," Khanna said.

Khanna has said he supports Trump's efforts to create a "Department of Government Efficiency" to cut wasteful federal spending. The president-elect appointed Elon Musk and Vivek Ramawamy to lead the effort and the pair was on Capitol Hill this week to discuss their plans.

Khanna told Raddatz that "they should look at the extraordinary waste," examining Medicare and private health costs, as well as defense spending.

"I think when it comes to defense, getting better defense for value and cutting costs, there can be huge bipartisan cooperation," said Khanna.

The congressman emphasized that cuts to Social Security, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and Medicare should not be on the table.

Despite bipartisan calls to address federal spending, the United States' debt stands at more than $36 trillion.

Khanna said he has communicated with Musk regarding his cost-cutting efforts and praised the SpaceX founder's work with the Obama administration for the private sector to engage in space exploration.

Khanna was also asked about his thoughts on the looming possibility of a ban of TikTok in the U.S. unless it finds a new owner following a Federal Appeals Court ruling on Friday that rejected TikTok's bid to overturn the law.

In previous interviews on "This Week," Khanna spoke about his opposition to a bill that would require TikTok to divest from its Chinese parent company or face a ban.

“I don't think it's going to pass First Amendment scrutiny because I think there are less restrictive alternatives,” he told “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl in April.

On Sunday, Khanna said he still believes that TikTok won’t face a ban, noting how many politicians themselves are on the platform.

“Let’s see where it goes with the Supreme Court,” he said.

ExactDevelopment4892 on December 8th, 2024 at 23:18 UTC »

Originally Medicare was supposed to be for all. There was a compromise to give it seniors only and slowly expand it. The expansion never happened.

duckbrioche on December 8th, 2024 at 23:07 UTC »

If by “moving toward medicate for all” you mean doing everything possible to destroy medicare then you count on Trump. And if by “to cure inequalities” you mean to destroy the working class then sure, Trump will do that also.

As an added bonus he will likely bring about inflation and another “great depression” because he did promise to make america great again.

And he will fight vaccines so that whooping cough, measles, and maybe even polio can be great again.

I won’t even bother mentioning what he has planned for Ukraine (hint- it’s Russia soon) or Palestine (hint- it’s Israel soon).

Edit- changed now to soon and removed a”the”

primorandom on December 8th, 2024 at 23:02 UTC »

Well I mean yeah, but that's not happening anytime soon.