September 20, 2018 03:38 PM UTC

FACT CHECK: Coffman Backed The Anti-Obamacare Bill, Supported by Trump, That Inspired A Thumbs Down From McCain

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• by: Jason Salzman

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

In a “Truth Check” aired yesterday, Fox 31 Denver’s Joe St. George reviews an ad released this week by congressional Democrats and concludes that it’s “true Congressman Coffman has sided with the President on issues like taxes. It is true he more often than not sides with the White House on votes in the House.”

St. George says correctly that Coffman challenged Trump sometimes, but he goes too far in concluding Coffman “opposed” Trump on the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

St. George correctly reports that U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman voted against a House bill, backed by Trump, that would have repealed and replaced the ACA, also called Obamacare.

But it’s misleading of St. George to conclude that Coffman straight-up opposed Trump on Obamacare, based on Coffman’s single congressional vote.

In fact, Coffman actually supported the U.S. Senate’s final anti-Obamacare measure, called the “Skinny Repeal,” which failed with U.S. Sen. John McCain’s thumb pointing to the floor.

Trump lobbied heavily for the “Skinny” repeal.

After McCain’s famous thumbs down, Coffman told Channel 9 political reporter Marshall Zelinger that, unlike McCain, he would have backed the “Skinny” Obamacare repeal, calling it “viable” to him as a “negotiating tool” to get it to a conference committee. That’s what numerous Republicans were saying at the time.

But had the skinny repeal passed the U.S. Senate, it could have become law without further negotiations or a conference committee. That’s one reason McCain opposed it.

In any case, here’s Coffman telling Zellinger he’d support the “Skinny Repeal.”

Here’s McCain’s famous thumbs down on the “Skinny Repeal.”