Former U.S. Senator and Representative John E. Sununu (R-NH), who’s running to reclaim his Senate seat with President Trump’s endorsement, is being criticized for saying he supports a work requirement for senior citizens who receive Medicare benefits.
As seen below on the Hugh Hewitt Show, Sununu — brother of former New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu and son of former Governor and White House Chief of Staff John H. Sununu — said, “I certainly support a work requirement for able-bodied Medicare recipients.”
[NOTE: To be eligible for Medicare benefits, those without a disability must be at least 65 years old.]
Republican New Hampshire Senate candidate John Sununu says he supports a work requirement for seniors on Medicare:
“I certainly support a work requirement for able-bodied Medicare recipients.” pic.twitter.com/Yw3puCdct9
— Headquarters (@HQNewsNow) April 30, 2026
Democrats are objecting to Sununu’s position with comments that illustrate a major divide between the two main political parties, including, “Republicans give tax breaks to billionaires and corporations, but they want senior citizens to work until they die. #VoteBlue.”
Another wrote, in a comment that disqualifies the 61-year-old Sununu’s candidacy: “I worked in the legal field until I was 79, so don’t assume Medicare recipients aren’t already doing that. CONVERSELY, I think all members of Congress should leave office at 60!!!”
[NOTE: A push from voters to retire the so-called “gerontocracy” has received a fair share of media attention, as the median age of the current Senate has risen to nearly 65.]
Medicare differs from Medicaid, and suggestions that the former carry work requirements is less popular than Medicaid work requirements, which states — with the passage last year of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) — are required to implement for Medicaid recipients by January 1, 2027.
[NOTE: Many Americans — especially Republicans — consider Medicaid “a form of welfare,” and so are more eager to show it being earned, according to KFF, which also says that “data show most Medicaid adults are working or face barriers to work.”
Some states, like Arkansas and Georgia, have tried work requirements for Medicaid recipients that increased administrative costs due to tracking and compliance without improved health care outcomes.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation reported in 2025: “Arkansas witnessed this when the state temporarily introduced Medicaid work requirements. This terminated health insurance for 18,000 people and cost the state and federal government $26.1 million in administrative expenses—without increasing employment. Georgia’s Medicaid program with work requirements cost more than $40 million in its first year, with nearly 80% of funds going to administrative and consulting fees rather than healthcare.”
In the Republican primary, Sununu faces Scott Brown, 66, who served as U.S. ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa during the first Trump administration and as a Senator in Massachusetts. Brown ran for the Senate seat in New Hampshire in 2014, and lost in a close race to incumbent Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, 79, who won Sununu’s seat in 2008.
[NOTE: Shaheen, who is not running for re-election, has endorsed U.S. Representative Chris Pappas (D-NH) in the Democratic primary. Pappas, who is 45, responded to Sununu’s Medicare comment: “Is anyone really surprised? My GOP opponent @SununuSenator voted to cut Medicare and was a leading architect of the scheme to privatize Social Security.”]
While a Senator, Sununu worked with Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) to reform Social Security by allowing workers to divert payroll taxes into personal, private investment accounts. Critics of the “Ryan-Sununu Plan” argued it “would divert necessary funds from the Social Security system, increase federal borrowing, and expose retirees to stock market risks.”