Sen. Josh Hawley's (R-MO) evolution on his views on Medicaid — a government health insurance program for low-income people eyed for big cuts this year by the GOP — caught the attention of the Wall Street Journal's conservative editorial board.
In a cheeky piece titled, "Josh Hawley’s Medicaid Switcheroo," the Journal recalled that when Hawley ran for office in 2018, he campaigned on getting rid of the Affordable Care Act, the massive health care law that expanded Medicaid to cover more people, including low-income adults who aren’t disabled.
Not so much, anymore.
"Now he declares the latter a red line he won’t cross," the Journal noted, calling it a "political evolution" that's "something to behold."
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But this year, Hawley insists he won’t support any plan that cuts Medicaid, including that same part of ObamaCare he once rebuked. He threw his support behind a Democratic colleague's amendment to the Senate's budget resolution that sought to kill the House's plan to find about $880 billion in Medicaid savings over a decade. That effort failed, but Hawley doubled down, saying he won’t vote for any budget that cuts Medicaid benefits.
That includes adults covered under ObamaCare.
The flip-flop didn't go unnoticed.
"The irony here is that as state Attorney General in 2018 he joined a misconceived lawsuit by 20 states to overturn ObamaCare. He used the lawsuit to burnish his conservative credentials and win the GOP nomination to take on Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill, whom he defeated that fall," the Journal wrote.
They concluded with a parting jab at the MAGA loyalist.
"While campaigning in 2018, Mr. Hawley vowed to do what Republicans for years had pledged by repealing and replacing ObamaCare with a better and less costly system. 'You deserve a Senator who’s driven to fix this mess,' Mr. Hawley told voters. Yes, they do," the Board concluded.