Rep Sylvester Turner warned Donald Trump not to 'mess with Medicaid' in final message before sudden death

WASHINGTON, DC: Democratic Party Congressman Sylvester Turner warned President Donald Trump not to "mess with Medicaid" before his sudden death at the age of 70 on Wednesday, March 5, reported PEOPLE.

The 70-year-old Representative from the 18th Congressional District in Texas was elected to Capitol Hill in November last year. He previously served as the mayor of Houston from 2016 until January 2024.

The sudden death of Sylvester Turner

Texas Rep Sylvester Turner attended President Donald Trump's address to the joint session of Congress on the night of March 4. Houston Mayor John Whitmore revealed that Turner fell ill thereafter and was transported to a hospital. He was released and later died at his home in Washington, DC, the following morning.

“This comes as a shock to everyone,” stated Whitmire of his predecessor. He described him as a "remarkable public servant who impacted millions of people," adding, "He rose from poverty but never forgot where he came from. It is a terrible loss for the city and a personal loss for me. I ask Houstonians to celebrate his life.”

Sylvester Turner's message for Donald Trump

Shortly before his demise, Turner took to X (formerly Twitter) to raise his voice in support of Medicaid, writing, "My message to the current administration for tonight’s State of the Union: 'Don’t mess with Medicaid.'”

The post contained a video where the Turner was seen standing beside Angela Hernandez, whom he introduced as a guest from his congressional district to Trump's speech on Tuesday night.

"She is representing and advocating for her daughter Baislee Garcia who has a rare genetic disorder Chromosome 8p: Inversion/Duplication/Deletion," he continued in the caption.

In the video, Hernandez spoke about her 2-year-old daughter and claimed, "Losing Medicaid would be devastating to us.”

"Let me be clear: any cuts to Medicaid are a direct attack on families like Angela’s," said Turner.

"President Trump and Elon Musk’s push to gut Medicaid is nothing short of a betrayal of the most vulnerable among us. They are playing politics with children’s lives, and I will not stand for it," he added.

According to Newsweek, Trump did not bring up the subject of Medicaid during his Tuesday night speech. He had previously assured of his administration's commitment to the program even amid proposed spending cuts.

Internet pays tribute to Rep Sylvester Turner

People on the internet paid tribute to the late congressman by commenting on his last tweet after his unexpected demise. 

"Rest in peace sir, thank you for all of your efforts for your communities you served," wrote a person.

"Rest in Peace. Good trouble. Good fight. We will continue the good trouble and fight in your name and honor," shared another.

"No one is cutting Medicaid! Cutting fraud and abuse of Medicaid so Medicaid continues to be available for all Americans who need it. RIP Rep Turner," expressed one individual.

"Rest in peace, Mr. Turner. Thank you for all you did and tried to do. We will make sure they don’t mess with Medicaid. God speed," posted another.

"Rest in peace and in power. This is heartbreaking. We need to honor his last wish," one individual added.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.