Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has addressed accusations that his party plans to cut Social Security and other federal programs.

Following Johnson’s appearance on the Moon Griffon Show on June 8, Democrats accused him of planning cuts to entitlement and benefit programs, while Johnson said Republican efforts are focused on strengthening oversight and addressing what he described as “autopilot” spending. Tackling government spending has become a central focus of the Trump administration, particularly across Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, food assistance, and other benefit programs.

In a clip from the interview posted on X, formerly Twitter, Johnson said: “The largest spending items, the reason we're in trouble is because over 74 percent of federal spending is on autopilot - mandatory spending, that is your entitlement programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and things like Social Security - they have to be adjusted and fixed.

"We have a plan to do that next year, and it's critical, because we're at $40 trillion plus in debt. At some point you get into a hole so deep you can't climb out of it, so desperate times call for desperate measures."

Responding to the clip, Ken Martin, chair of the Democratic National Committee, wrote on X: “Mike Johnson says Republicans have a plan to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid—after already passing the largest healthcare cut in history. Higher costs, less healthcare. That’s what Republicans are running on this November.”

Johnson rebutted the accusations in a post on X, saying: “Once again, Democrats and the media are fearmongering. Everyone knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is rampant waste, fraud, and abuse throughout government programs. Just today, the @GOPoversight released a report that Tim Walz’s failures in Minnesota cost the taxpayer potentially $9 billion in Medicaid-related funds and roughly $300 million in federal child nutrition funds.”

He added: “During this Congress, the House has already passed substantive legislation to clean up this waste, fraud, and abuse, and Democrats have voted against nearly every piece of legislation we’ve passed. We will continue to do so in this Congress and in future Congresses so that these important programs can be preserved for the American citizens that need them. Democrats love to say that ‘everybody is against fraud,’ and they are right — this is a 90/10 issue. Republicans are the ones with the courage to actually do anything about it.”

Tackling “waste, fraud and abuse” in federal programs has become a key tenet of the Trump administration, particularly in Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, food assistance and other benefit programs. In March 2026, President Donald Trump signed an executive order creating a government-wide Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, saying federal benefit programs had been vulnerable to fraud, waste and abuse and that stronger oversight was needed. Trump has repeatedly argued that rooting out fraud in federal programs could generate major savings for taxpayers.