WASHINGTON – Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) is peddling a weird declare that he was key to securing $1 billion to assist hospitals in his state survive the sweeping Medicaid cuts in President Donald Trump’s tax invoice.
Besides that he wasn’t — and he voted for Trump’s invoice.
In additional than a dozen social media posts in current days, Van Orden tries to take credit score for Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) and state legislators speeding to go a funds that will increase the state’s so-called Medicaid supplier tax price. This can be a state-imposed tax on well being care suppliers, like hospitals, which the state makes use of to assist pay for its Medicaid program. The federal authorities matches the state’s supplier tax price.
Till lately, Wisconsin had a really low supplier tax price in comparison with different states. As a result of Trump’s tax invoice would have frozen that tax price at its low degree, state legislators rushed to extend the speed of their funds so Wisconsin may very well be grandfathered into Trump’s tax legislation on the most degree, that means it’s going to now get an additional $1 billion in federal cash yearly.
Van Orden, whose Home seat is rated a “toss-up” within the 2026 elections, appears to need individuals to imagine he was very important to his state getting this $1 billion to offset the ache of the invoice he voted for. In Wisconsin alone, Trump’s now-law is estimated to kick greater than 258,000 individuals off of their medical health insurance and places not less than three rural hospitals prone to closing.
In a Friday submit, Van Orden complained {that a} PBS story about Wisconsin state legislators racing to go their funds to safe the additional federal funding “failed to mention that we worked seamlessly with the State Gov to get this done.”
That identical day, he accused Evers of telling “a flat out lie” about Republicans in Congress promoting out households to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy in Trump’s invoice: “We just got $1,000,000,000 annually for BadgerCare,” Van Orden claimed, referring to the state’s Medicaid program.
He repeatedly took credit score for the $1 billion in a daylong spat with Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), who accused Van Orden of mendacity concerning the damaging results of Trump’s tax invoice. He did it once more on Sunday, in response to a social media submit by Evers touting that the state’s funds “ensures access to healthcare.”
“This is because of State and Congressional Republicans,” Van Orden tweeted at Evers. “You know it. I told you.”
Tom Williams through Getty Pictures
All through his posts, Van Orden retains sharing a replica of a letter he despatched to Evers on July 2 wherein he basically pleads with the governor to rush up and go the state funds to guard Wisconsin hospitals from the Medicaid cuts within the tax invoice he voted for. He claims this letter is proof that he’s the rationale the governor and state legislature took quick motion.
However Evers’ spokesperson instructed HuffPost on Tuesday that Van Orden performed no function within the monthslong negotiations between the governor and state legislators on their funds, or on their efforts to maneuver shortly to safe the additional $1 billion to offset Medicaid cuts.
“Congressman Van Orden never personally advocated to the governor or our office for the hospital assessment provision to be included in the state budget until after it was clearly already part of the state budget, he had nothing to do with the hospital assessment being part of bipartisan state budget negotiations with Republican leaders, and he had nothing to do with the fact that the governor decided to enact the state budget before the federal reconciliation bill was signed,” Evers’ spokesperson Britt Cudaback mentioned in a press release.
“If Congressman Van Orden wanted to take credit for supporting Medicaid and protecting Wisconsinites’ access to healthcare, perhaps he shouldn’t have voted to gut Medicaid and kick 250,000 Wisconsinites off their healthcare.”
– Britt Cudaback, spokesperson for Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D)
The governor labored with Democrats in Wisconsin’s congressional delegation for months to observe potential federal adjustments to hospital funds below Trump’s invoice, added Cudaback. However Van Orden didn’t attain out to Evers’ workplace till June 30, after Evers and Republican state leaders had already reached a bipartisan state funds settlement.
“It was only then that Congressman Van Orden reached out to tell the governor and our office something we already knew and had long planned for, which is that the state budget would need to be enacted before President Trump signed the federal reconciliation bill,” she mentioned.
Cudaback took a shot on the GOP lawmaker for, she mentioned, pretending to care about defending individuals’s well being care after voting to kick so many individuals off of it.
“Put simply, if Congressman Van Orden wanted to take credit for supporting Medicaid and protecting Wisconsinites’ access to healthcare, perhaps he shouldn’t have voted to gut Medicaid and kick 250,000 Wisconsinites off their healthcare,” she mentioned.
Cudaback later known as Van Orden out straight on social media, too. “Not true,” she wrote in response to a submit by Van Orden claiming Evers had secured the $1 billion “because I told him if he did not get it done, we would miss the once in a generation opportunity.”
In a short assertion, Van Orden instructed HuffPost that it’s clear he was key to the Wisconsin governor and state legislature shifting shortly to go their funds due to the time Evers signed it into legislation.
“The only reason Tony signed the bill at 1:30 in the morning was to make the deadline I spoke and wrote to him about,” he mentioned Tuesday. “Period. Do that math.”
Pocan was nonetheless mocking Van Orden on Monday for attempting to take credit score for passing a state funds invoice.
“I didn’t realize he was serving in the State Legislature and Congress simultaneously,” the Wisconsin Democrat mentioned in a press release. “The State Legislature voted to expand Medicaid’s reimbursements to the states before Derrick, Congressional Republicans, and Trump could force through their devastating reconciliation bill that will cut $1 trillion from healthcare nationwide and could shutter rural hospitals across the state.”
“You can’t create a problem and then claim credit for someone else’s help in making it slightly less horrific,” Pocan added. “He and his Republican colleagues are the reason this legislative fix was so necessary in the first place.”
