Autopen-Gate begins as White House Opens Probe plus Are Illegal Immigrants Getting Benefits in New York?

Summary

The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson – July 17, 2025

Episode Title: Autopen-Gate begins as White House Opens Probe plus Are Illegal Immigrants Getting Benefits in New York?

Hosted by the renowned national radio host, podcaster, and political commentator Ben Ferguson, The 47 Morning Update delves into pressing political controversies and policy debates shaping America. In this episode, Ferguson tackles two major stories: the initiation of an investigation into President Joe Biden's alleged misuse of an autopen and the question of whether illegal immigrants in New York are receiving Medicaid benefits contrary to Democratic assurances.

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1. Autopen-Gate: White House Launches Investigation

Time Stamp: [01:34]

Neera Tanden opens the discussion with explosive allegations regarding President Biden's cognitive fitness and the potential misuse of an autopen—a device purportedly used to sign official documents without the president's direct involvement.

Key Points:

• Investigation Commences: Representative James Comer announces the investigation into Biden’s use of the autopen, questioning whether the president was aware of the documents being signed on his behalf.

  Quote:
  Neera Tanden [04:10]: "It is official. The White House now confirming they are opening the autopen Biden investigation."

• Implications of Cognitive Decline: Tanden suggests that the use of the autopen may indicate significant cognitive decline, allowing unelected staffers to make presidential decisions.

  Quote:
  Ben Ferguson [05:58]: "Whoever operated the autopen had a policy which is, by the way, I think the biggest scandal."

• Fifth Amendment Invocation: High-profile aides, including former Chief of Staff Anthony Bernal and President Biden’s physician Dr. Kevin O'Connor, invoked their Fifth Amendment rights during depositions, raising red flags about potential cover-ups.

  Quote:
  Neera Tanden [06:15]: "He was the second former aide to do so, following the president's physician, Dr. Kevin O'Connor."

• Republican Response: House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer emphasizes that the refusal to answer questions suggests a deliberate attempt to conceal the truth about Biden’s decision-making capabilities.

• Democratic Defense: Representative Jasmine Crockett defends President Biden, attributing verbal missteps to normal human errors rather than cognitive failure.

Analysis:

The investigation into Biden's use of the autopen is framed by Republicans as a monumental scandal, potentially revealing unprecedented levels of administrative misconduct. The invocation of the Fifth Amendment by key aides is portrayed as indicative of deeper issues within the White House. Conversely, Democrats argue that these actions do not necessarily point to wrongdoing, emphasizing legal protections against self-incrimination.

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2. Medicaid Benefits for Illegal Immigrants in New York

Time Stamp: [10:11]

The second major story focuses on the contentious issue of Medicaid benefits for illegal immigrants in New York, challenging the Democratic narrative that such benefits are nonexistent.

Key Points:

• Republican Challenge: Representative Wesley Hunt questions Governor Hochul of New York about the actual number of illegal immigrants receiving Medicaid, countering the Democrats' claim that none do.

  Quote:
  Neera Tanden [10:11]: "There's been a question that many Republicans have been asking how many illegal immigrants are actually receiving access to Medicaid benefits?"

• Governor’s Response: The governor’s spokesperson deflects, criticizing Hunt for not opposing broader Medicaid reforms and avoiding a direct answer to the specific inquiry.

  Quote:
  Neera Tanden [16:00]: "A spokesperson for the governor quickly fired back at Congressman Hunt..."

• Legislative Background: The discussion touches on Section 1115 waivers, which allow states like New York to deviate from federal Medicaid standards, potentially enabling undocumented immigrants to qualify for coverage.

• Statistical Claims: An estimate from the Fiscal Policy Institute suggests that about 670,000 illegal immigrants in New York might be on Medicaid, representing roughly 5% of the state's population.

• Federal Laws and Executive Orders: Reference is made to President Trump's executive order aimed at preventing taxpayer-funded benefits from being accessed by illegal immigrants, highlighting the tension between state policies and federal directives.

  Quote:
  Neera Tanden [16:45]: "Back in February, President Trump also signed an executive order that directed his administration to ensure... no taxpayer funded benefits go to unqualified aliens."

• Democratic Positioning: Democrats assert that most undocumented individuals are not eligible for full Medicaid coverage, paralleling the limitation faced by many eligible American citizens.

  Quote:
  Neera Tanden [15:30]: "State officials have told the New York Post that, 'most undocumented individuals are not eligible for full Medicaid coverage.'"

Analysis:

The Medicaid benefits debate encapsulates the ongoing struggle between state-level policy experimentation and federal oversight. Republicans argue that New York’s use of waivers has inadvertently allowed illegal immigrants to access benefits, thereby misallocating taxpayer dollars. Democrats defend the state’s approach, emphasizing that benefits retain their primary focus on eligible citizens and that comprehensive data remains elusive due to administrative challenges.

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Conclusion

In this episode of The 47 Morning Update, Ben Ferguson and Neera Tanden navigate two hot-button issues with fervent commentary and detailed examination. The unfolding investigation into President Biden’s use of an autopen is depicted as a historic scandal with significant implications for presidential accountability and cognitive transparency. Concurrently, the scrutiny of Medicaid benefits allocation in New York highlights the deep partisan divides over immigration and public welfare policies.

By incorporating direct quotes and precise timestamps, the episode provides listeners with a clear and engaging overview of these complex topics, encouraging informed discourse on the pressing political matters of the day.

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Notable Quotes:

• Neera Tanden [01:06]: "If there is this underlying plot to hide Biden's mental condition so that others could arrogate his power in that way, that's a conspiracy crime."

• Ben Ferguson [05:58]: "Whoever operated the autopen had a policy... I think it's the biggest scandal, one of them in American history."

• Neera Tanden [06:15]: "The committee pressed him on whether he was ever instructed to misrepresent Biden's health or believe the president to be unfit to serve. He would not answer that question."

• Neera Tanden [10:11]: "If you ask the Democratic Party, they will tell you that there isn't a single illegal immigrant that is receiving Medicaid benefits."

• Ben Ferguson [17:54]: "We deserve answers. The American people as taxpayers deserve to know where their money is going and if it is being diverted to 670,000 illegal immigrants in the Empire State."

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Transcript

[Ben Ferguson]

This is an Iheart podcast.

[Neera Tanden]

Wasn't that delicious? So good.

[Ben Ferguson]

Your bill, ladies. I got it. No, I got it.

[Neera Tanden]

Seriously, I insist.

[Ben Ferguson]

I insisted first. Don't be silly. You don't be silly. People with The Wells Fargo ActiveCash credit card prefer to pay because they earn unlimited 2% cash back on purchases. Okay.

[Neera Tanden]

Rock, paper, scissors for it. Rock, paper, scissors. Shoot.

[Ben Ferguson]

No. The Wells Fargo active cash credit card. Visit Wells Fargo.com active cash terms apply.

[Neera Tanden]

And yet we heard from White House aide Neera Tanden, reportedly testifying she had no idea who in Biden's inner circle gave her permission to use the auto panel. If there is this underlying plot to hide Biden's mental condition so that others could arrogate his power in that way, that's a conspiracy crime. So it's no wonder two people have already taken the fifth.

[Ben Ferguson]

You're listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson.

[Neera Tanden]

Good Thursday morning. Nice to have you with us on the 47 Morning Update. And we've got some really big breaking news. Representative James Comer now explaining exactly what's at stake in the investigation to Biden's auto PIN use. And yes, the White House is now opening an investigation into that auto pin who was using it, and did Joe Biden even know it was happening? Also, you may have heard the big lie. Democrats saying that illegal immigrants are not on Medicaid. Well, Representative Wesley Hunt is Now asking New York about their 670, 000 illegal immigrants and quote, how many of them are actually on Medicaid.

[Buck Sexton]

But first, I want to talk to.

[Neera Tanden]

You about starting my day.

[Buck Sexton]

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[Neera Tanden]

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[Buck Sexton]

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[Neera Tanden]

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[Buck Sexton]

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[Neera Tanden]

Off your first order. Try it right now. It's the 47 Morning Update and it.

[Ben Ferguson]

Starts right story number one.

[Neera Tanden]

It is official. The White House now confirming they are opening the auto pen Biden investigation. Yes, you can smile. We may actually get some answers about just how bad the cognitive decline of Joe Biden was and who was actually running the White House. It was clearly an auto pin and somebody was directing that auto pin to do things and sign things and give out pardons and it wasn't the sitting president, Joe Biden. The White House Counsel's office has officially opened this investigation on former President Joe Biden's White House abuse of the presidential auto pin to sign those pardons, executive orders and other laws and actions potentially without the former president's knowledge. This is, in my opinion, one of the biggest political scandals in all of American history. Sources confirming the opening of the investigation within the Trump White House and the press secretary, Caroline Levitt, issued a statement that the administration is committed to finding the answers. Joe Biden was the worst, the most incompetent and senile president in our country's history is what Caroline Levitt wrote in a statement responding to the press request for a comment. It has been widely reported that Joe Biden handed the power of the presidency to an auto pen that was controlled by unelected leftist staffers who were allowed to make terrible decisions that destroyed our country. The Trump White House is committed to finding the answers to many outstanding questions the American people still have about how business in the Biden White House was conducted. Levitt's statement added President Trump also had something to say at the White House in an unrelated sitting in the Oval Office. Here's what he had to say about this scandal as well.

[Ben Ferguson]

Whoever operated the auto pen had a policy which is, by the way, I think the biggest scandal. That's the scandal they should be talking about, not Jeffrey Epstein. The scandal you should be talking about is the auto pen because I think it's the biggest scandal, one of them in American history.

[Neera Tanden]

Now let's talk about what the investigation is going to look like. I'm being told that this investigation will include the review of tens of thousands of documents turned over to the National Archives as well as records administration. And those documents, as the New York Times first reported early over the weekend, will potentially provide direct evidence of whether Biden was aware of the actions that were being signed by the auto pin. That would be his signature. Now Biden potentially absolved his senior officials that acted on his behalf by auto pen by telling the Times in a blanket statement that could whitewash complicity saying, quote, I conscientiously made all those decisions is what Biden's staff said to the Times. I made every decision, quote, unquote, is Biden's quote. Now the American people, you can decide to believe Joe Biden, Biden, but I think it's pretty clear the White House is not going to take the former president at his word. Which brings me to another story, a very important one as well. There's a guy by the name of Anthony Bernal. He is the former chief of staff for the First Lady Jill Biden, often dubbed her work husband. He was before Congress and invoked his Fifth Amendment right during a deposition by the House Oversight Committee. Fact he refused to answer any questions related President Joe Biden's cognitive fitness, whether he was ever asked to lie about the President's health or about the use of the presidential auto pen. Now he is the second former aide to do so, following the president's physician, Dr. Kevin O'. Connor. Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer emphasized the seriousness of this refusal, saying it raises concerns that unelected staff may have assumed presidential level decision making responsibilities. Now, Dr. Kevin O', Connor, who also pled the Fifth, Biden's longtime White House physician, invoked it the same way at a closed door deposition before the same committee. The committee pressed him on whether he was ever instructed to misrepresent Biden's health or believe the president to be unfit to serve. He would not answer that question. Now Republicans have obviously highlighted this as an extraordinary cover up and suggestive of a concealed cover up that was planned by top level people in the White House. The Democrats would have been involved. And the doctor's legal team stressed that exercising the right does not imply wrongdoing. It simply protects self incrimination. So here's the bigger picture. The House Oversight Committee led by James Comer is actively investigating the allegations that Biden's health issues were so secretive, were so concealed that aides may have used the auto pin to sign official documents, possibly circumventing presidential authority. And they may have signed documents that Joe Biden never intended to sign, didn't even know existed, and invoked policy decisions that he didn't even know about. Representative Jasmine Crockett, Democrat from Texas, a committee Democrat, has defended President Biden, asserting that occasional verbal missteps are not, quote, evidence of cognitive failure. The investigation into Biden's cognitive fitness and potential misuse of the auto pin is clearly intensifying with Bernal and o' Connor both invoking their Fifth Amendment rights. House Republicans view this as evidence of internal concealment, while Democrats are maintaining the lie, saying this is no big deal at all and it doesn't prove any, any wrongdoing. Now, at the end of the day, this is going to come down to what the White House finds, what they see in the records. And I wouldn't be shocked to see more people invoke the fifth Amendment so they don't incriminate themselves or lie under oath to Congress.

[Ben Ferguson]

Now story number two.

[Neera Tanden]

There has been a question that many Republicans have been asking how many illegal immigrants are actually receiving access to Medicaid benefits? Now if you ask the Democratic Party, they will tell you that there isn't a single illegal immigrant that is receiving Medicaid benefits. Insert a brilliant move by Texas Representative Wesley Hunt. He's now demanding data from the New York governor over how many of the state's estimated 670,000 illegal immigrants are actually receiving access to those Medicaid benefits that Democrats say, well, it's not happening at all. Hunt, a Republican, decided to just straight up ask the question directly to the governor on Monday, raising questions about how the Empire State has leveraged waivers to actually allow its Medicaid program to operate differently from federal standards and mandates. Governor Hochul is required to report this information to the federal government. So the question is simple. Will she comply or continue to harbor lawbreakers while putting the health care of law abiding citizens at risk? Hunt said in a statement to the New York Post. This is what Democratic leadership looks like. Open borders benefits for illegal aliens and betrayal of the people they're supposed to be representing, the American people. Now, there is an estimated 1.4 million people, quote, whose citizenship, nationality or satisfactory immigration status is not verified and they are potentially being covered by Medicaid programs in various states. That coming now from the Congressional Budget Office. I'll have more on that in a moment. But one study from the liberal leaning Fiscal Policy Institute cited by Congressman Hunt found that There are some 670,000 illegal immigrants in the Empire State. In fact, it is now about 5% of the population. New York has benefited from section 1115 waivers which allows it to experiment and deviate from federal standards in its implementation of Medicaid, a program that provides health insurance to 70 million low income Americans. And now the question is how many illegals? A spokesperson for the governor quickly fired back at Congressman Hunt and argued that he should have focused on opposing the one big beautiful bill act over its Medicaid reforms instead of targeting New York, saying if Representative Hunt were truly concerned about the health and well being of his constituents, he should have directed his focus to voting against the big ugly bill which will invoke irreparable damage to Medicaid programs nationwide, including in his home state of Texas. Yet again, you may notice that the spokesperson for the governor did not answer the question how many illegal immigrants are receiving benefits? This is just another pitiful attempt, the governor's office went on to say, to divert attention from Republican actions to eliminate health care for 1.5 million New Yorkers and deny food security access to millions of seniors and children. You'll notice in that statement, yet again the governor of New York refusing to answer the question, how many illegal immigrants are taking government benefits? Now, state officials have told the New York Post that, quote, most undocumented individuals are not eligible for full Medicaid coverage. Now notice the words they used. Most undocumented individuals are not eligible for, quote, full Medicaid coverage. By the way, that statement would also be true for most American citizens are not eligible for full Medicaid coverage and that the small group that is enrolled in the state's program has not benefited, they claim, from federal dollars. Now, New York also claimed that spending was unrelated to the 1115 waivers. Well, then why would the governor of New York not answer the simple question that was put to her by Wesley Hunt? Now, Hunt noted that the Biden administration had rejected the use of those waivers for states like South Carolina, Arizona and other states. The Texas Republican stress that the waivers were not intended to allow illegal immigrants to benefit American tax dollars going for their health care coverage. Now the Biden administration allowed and even encouraged the use of these 1115 waivers to extend Medicaid to undocumented immigrants, something that Democrats are now claiming never happened and despite federal law actually prohibiting them from receiving these benefits, hunt wrote in a letter to Hochul on Monday. Now, back in February, President Trump also signed an executive order that directed his administration to ensure and a maximum extent possible that no taxpayer funded benefits go to unqualified aliens. That order pointed to existing law such as the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation act of 1996, which generally blocks illegal immigrants from getting federal benefits from taxpayers. The Texas Republican also cited concerns about New York's green light law, which permits all state residents, regardless of immigration status, to get driver's licenses. Now the Justice Department filed a lawsuit against that law, arguing that it hamstrings federal enforcement of immigration law. Hunt argued it could help illegal immigrants get access to taxpayer funded benefits, using the driver's license to gain that access. And to address these concerns, Hunt now demanded that Hochul conduct a review of its Medicaid enrollment base on Social Security numbers and release those findings to the public, saying this New Yorkers deserve transparency, accountability and adherence to law in the administration of public health programs, policies that divert limited resources away from lawful recipients American citizens not only violates federal standards, they also destroy public trust and threaten the sustainability of programs designed to serve our most vulnerable American citizens. Now Hunt has also drawn speculation over recent weeks that he may vie for Senator John Cornyn's seat in the Senate in Texas in the 2026 midterms. And this could very well be one of those points that he would campaign on. Now let me say one other thing about this. We deserve answers. The American people as taxpayers deserve to know where their money is going and if it is being diverted to 670,000 illegal immigrants in the Empire State, yes, about 4 1/2% of its population. One other thing that I think is also a point that needs to be made. You notice that Democrats did not deny in any of the statements coming from the governor's office that illegal immigrants are receiving benefits. And they word it carefully to say, well, some may, but most aren't and most aren't receiving full benefits. Well, that also goes for the same with the American citizen base that are eligible for Medicaid benefits as well. It is supposed to help the weakest, the least, the poorest and those that are the most in need. Yet many Americans do not qualify for full benefits. So why are we giving those benefits to illegal immigrants. That's the question every American should be asking.

[Ben Ferguson]

Thank you for listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson. Please make sure you hit subscribe wherever you're listening to this podcast right now. And for more in depth news, also subscribe to the Ben Ferguson Podcast and we will see you back here tomorrow. Introducing Family Freedom from T Mobile. We'll pay off four phones up to $3200 and give you four free phones, all on America's largest 5G network. Visit t mobile.com familyfreedom we.

[Neera Tanden]

Up to.

[Ben Ferguson]

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