U.S. Vice President JD Vance this week admitted that he could have spoken “more carefully” when he suggested that American bishops were more concerned with finances than immigrants amid budget cuts in 2025.
Speaking on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” in January 2025, Vance had suggested that the bishops who were objecting to aggressive immigration enforcement by the Trump administration should consider whether they were “worried about their bottom line.”
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has received tens of millions of dollars in government grants for its refugee resettlement program but maintains that those grants did not cover the total cost of the program.
In February Cardinal Timothy Dolan told EWTN News’ Mark Irons that Vance had “apologized” for the remarks. In a March 4 interview with the Washington Post, Vance didn’t deny apologizing, though according to the paper he “didn’t recall exactly what he said” to the prelate.
“I’m not saying he’s lying, but I mean, look, sometimes I say things too harshly. I say things too directly,” Vance told the newspaper.
The vice president admitted he “could have made that comment more carefully without going too hard” on the U.S. bishops.
He told the Post that he spoke to Dolan about the need to “be careful your financial interests and the immigration issue don’t actually cloud your judgment.” Vance did not immediately reply to a request for comment from EWTN News on March 4.
‘I have a different job’
Vance told the Post that though he admires the Catholic Church’s “spirit” and “Christian charity,” he “[has] a different job” than Church leadership and is obligated “to make sure that the American people are as safe and prosperous as they can be.”
“And sometimes that means that possibly very good people that the Catholic Church are ministering to, I have to say, ‘Has that person come into our country legally?’” he told the paper. “And if not, should we try to do something to change that?”
The vice president said he tries to manage the “conflict” between the Church and the government “in a spirit of charity.”
In February Dolan told EWTN News that though he disagrees with some positions that Vance takes, “he’s a very good guy.”
“I enjoy him a lot,” Dolan said at the time. “I agree with a bunch of stuff that he talks about, you bet.”