Washington, DC — Today, Senator Martha McSally (R-AZ) will join President Trump to tour a mask-making facility outside Phoenix, Arizona. Their visit comes as President Trump and Senator McSally continue to downplay the seriousness of the pandemic and as proceedings in the Texas lawsuit they both support to rip health care away from 20 million Americans begin before the Supreme Court tomorrow. Ahead of President Trump and Senator McSally’s tour, Protect Our Care Executive Director Brad Woodhouse issued the following statement:
“Senator McSally and President Trump have consistently downplayed this pandemic as the virus raged and tens of thousands of Americans lost their lives and their relentless sabotage of Americans’ health care puts more lives at risk. At a time when access to health care has never been more critical, both Trump and McSally support the lawsuit to rip coverage from 20 million more Americans and throw the health care system into chaos as the country grapples with this crisis and as deaths and infections continue to rise.”
BACKGROUND:
In Response To The Pandemic, Senator Martha McSally Has Reprised Her Role As “Chief Cheerleader” To Trump
Instead of confronting the crisis head-on and finding solutions for struggling Arizona families, McSally has spent her time praising Trump and shifting blame to China for the crisis.
Laurie Roberts, Columnist For The Arizona Republic, On McSally: “She Seems To Have Quarantined Herself Smack Inside The President’s Pocket.” “The world has changed but it’s comforting to know that some things never do. Sen. Martha McSally, for example, is still reprising her role as chief cheerleader to President Donald Trump. In fact, she seems to have quarantined herself smack inside the president’s pocket.” [Arizona Republic, 4/7/20]
McSally Praised Trump For Freezing Funds To The World Health Organization And Accused The W.H.O. Of Promoting Chinese Propaganda. “The U.S. is right to freeze WHO funding. Instead of acting in the best interest of our global health, the WHO has served as a propaganda arm for the Chinese government. WHO’s actions are unacceptable.” [Twitter, @SenMcSallyAZ, 4/7/20]
McSally: “China Is To Blame For This Pandemic And The Death Of Thousands Of Americans.” “Make no mistake: China is to blame for this pandemic and the death of thousands of Americans.” [Twitter, @SenMcSallyAZ, 4/7/20]
McSally: “Chinese Propaganda & WHO Complicity Cost American Lives & Muddled Our COVID-19 Response.” “Couldn’t agree more. Chinese propaganda & WHO complicity cost American lives & muddled our COVID-19 response. WHO’s Director-General should resign & China’s voting privileges suspended immediately. Congress needs to investigate WHO’s ties to China & reconsider funding levels.” [Twitter, @SenMcSallyAZ, 4/7/20]
McSally’s Record On Health Care Has Left Arizonans Exposed And She Continues To Lie About Her Opposition To Protecting People With Pre-Existing Conditions
Despite the positive impact of the Affordable Care Act in Arizona, McSally has repeatedly voted to repeal the health care law, and she refuses to condemn the Texas lawsuit that would end Medicaid expansion and rip coverage away from nearly 300,000 Arizonans.
McSally Voted Twice To Repeal The ACA. During her time in the House, McSally famously encouraged her GOP colleagues to “get this f***ing thing done” and repeal the ACA. After repeal ultimately failed in the Senate, she called for a fresh start from the “failed” ACA.
- 2015: McSally Voted For A Total Repeal Of The ACA. McSally voted for HR 596, an act “to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and health care-related provisions in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.” The bill also ordered House committees to develop a replacement that would “provide people with pre-existing conditions access to affordable health coverage,” but provided no specifics. [HR 596, Roll Call Vote #58, 2/3/15]
- 2017: McSally Voted For AHCA. McSally voted for passage of the American Health Care Act. [HR 1628, Roll Call Vote #256, 5/4/17]
Martha McSally: It’s “Not My Role” To Oppose The Trump Lawsuit. “Brahm Resnik: Do you support the Trump administration’s support — they’re asking a federal judge to throw out the Affordable Care Act and declare it unconstitutional. Do you support that? Martha McSally: Again, it’s not my role, but in my view, if we could start all over again, we would do it differently.” [KPNX, 5/17/19]
- McSally Voted For The Tax Bill Which Forms The Basis For The Lawsuit. McSally voted for the Republican tax bill, which repealed a key provision of the Affordable Care Act that required most people to have health coverage and which is the basis of the entire lawsuit seeking to overturn the Affordable Care Act.
- McSally Refused To Support Authorizing The Senate Legal Counsel To Intervene In The Trump-Republican Lawsuit And Defend The Aca. McSally refused to sponsor a resolution (S. Res. 18), which would authorize Senate legal counsel to defend the Affordable Care Act against attack in Texas v. Azar.