Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., abruptly lashed out at a Capitol Hill reporter in the wake of the government shutdown that went into effect today.
While fielding questions about whether Democrats would risk a government shutdown to secure health care for illegal immigrants, Waters went completely berserk on one reporter in a now viral interview that has many seething that Waters is putting non-citizens ahead of American in the midst of a shutdown.
Outside the Capitol yesterday, LindellTV reporter Alison Steinberg pressed Waters on whether her party’s demands placed non-citizens ahead of American citizens.
“So you’re good with the government shutdown, even if it means giving health care to people who aren’t Americans?” Steinberg asked Waters.
“Well, you keep, that’s what you’re pushing on. What you’re trying to do is you’re standing here and you’re trying to make me say that somehow we’re going to put non-citizens over Americans. Quit it. Stop it. This is the kind of journalism we don’t need,” Waters said.
“You’re divisive. No, you’re not. You’re being divisive. No. Please. You don’t need to ask that question,” Waters fired back. “You’re just trying to get controversy here. You’re not going to get it from me. We want to save health care for all people.”
Take a listen —
WATCH: Maxine Waters Snaps When Asked About Healthcare for Illegal Aliens
When confronted outside the Capitol, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) was asked if Democrats are willing to shut down the U.S. government to prioritize healthcare for illegal immigrants.
“Quit it. Stop it. This… pic.twitter.com/St7BbBW8wH
— LindellTV (@RealLindellTV) September 30, 2025
Waters continued her rant, saying Democrats are demanding sweeping reforms.
“Do Democrats want to prioritize the health care of illegal aliens over a government shutdown?” Steinberg asked.
“Because if the government does shut down, Americans want it to be furloughed.”
“Excuse me. Stop it right there,” Waters said.
“We’re not prioritizing. What we’re doing is saying simply we want to keep the government open, and we want to work with the Republicans and have a bipartisan agreement to keep this government open, and health care is at the top of our agenda.”
Waters continued to defend the Democratic Party leader’s stance on health care by framing it as a moral obligation.
“Democrats are demanding health care for everybody. We want to save lives. We want to make sure that health care is available to those who would die but having the help of their government,” Waters said when asked if Democrats are demanding health care for illegal aliens.
Ahead of the shutdown, Democrats conditioned their backing of a stopgap spending bill on keeping the expanded Obamacare subsidies, saying that Republicans are attempting to strip health care from ordinary Americans.
President Trump sat down with congressional leaders Monday but left without an agreement, as Democrats pressed for health care concessions while Republicans stood firm on a clean funding extension.
The federal government has been shut down as of 12:01 AM today after Democrats in the Senate refused to back the funding plan passed by House Republicans.