LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) — With Lansing’s budget deadline looming, Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall spent Tuesday, June 18 in Washington, praising federal cuts to Medicaid and food assistance as fiscal discipline.

“I can’t force Whitmer’s administration … to spend tax dollars wisely,” Hall told The Detroit News. “If they just pay out accurately and don’t pay out fraud, they won’t get penalized.”

MORE NEWS: ‘Equity/Bias’ Plays a Role in How Ann Arbor Schools Selects School Books

Hall led a delegation of more than 70 Michigan Republicans to the Capitol, where they met with Trump administration officials and four Cabinet secretaries. The trip comes just weeks before Michigan’s July 1 deadline to finalize its $83 billion state budget.

“I wanted to bring a number of our legislators up here and other county leaders so they could see how engaged the Trump administration is on supporting and helping Michigan,” Hall said.

At the center of those meetings was the House GOP’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” a federal proposal that would penalize states with high SNAP (food assistance) error rates by forcing them to repay millions. Michigan, with a 10.7% payment error rate, could be on the hook for $778 million—money normally covered by the federal government.

Hall pointed to stricter eligibility rules as a way to rein in spending and improve oversight.

“The Whitmer administration has a track record of paying out to a lot of people they shouldn’t,” Hall said. “We should have work requirements or education requirements for able-bodied adults that are seeking Medicaid and other welfare.”

The GOP proposal would also block Michigan from using the state’s Insurance Provider Assessment to help pay its Medicaid bills. 

MORE NEWS: Fungus Smuggling Case: Lawyers for Chinese National Push for Quick Resolution

As Hall talked fiscal accountability in D.C., Whitmer was in Australia on a trade mission—a fact he highlighted repeatedly.

“Whitmer is in Australia. Why don’t you guys talk about that?” Hall said.