Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) hurled the "fake news" insult at a Democratic colleague who complained about the health care bill Republicans are trying to pass in secret.
The Republican majority reportedly plans to vote on the revised bill by the end of the month, without holding subcommittee hearings and despite concerns by Democrats and some GOP senators about what the legislation actually does.
"No hearings, no women, no Democrats involved," complained Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI). "No expert testimony, no listening to healthcare providers. This is legislative malpractice."
Democrats have complained the GOP health care legislation could reach a vote with almost no public discussion, so Cornyn's tweeted response to Schatz has to count as something like a debate.
"Fake news," the Texas Republican tweeted.
He offered a bit more substantive -- if possibly misleading -- response in a subsequent tweet.
"Sadly, Ds won't lift a finger to save constituents from O-care meltdown," Cornyn tweeted. "The experiment failed. 105% increase in premiums in last 4 yrs."
His argument is based on statistics reported in March by the Department of Health and Human Services, which found that "average exchange premiums were 105 percent higher in the 39 states using Healthcare.gov in 2017 than average individual market premiums in 2013."
The analysis used two different data sets to show that premiums, on average, had jumped from $232 per month to $476 -- although the HHS admits the two sets of numbers don' offer a "perfect comparison."
This was not the first time Cornyn has dismissed complaints about "Trumpcare" as "fake news."
He also used the slur against Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) for citing statistics from the Congressional Budget Office analysis of the health care reform passed by House Republicans that showed millions would lose health care and that premiums for elderly Americans would skyrocket.
