Republican brags about $1.4M children's hospital funding she tried and failed to block

A Republican lawmaker has been boasting about delivering $1.4 million to a children’s hospital despite having voted against the bill that secured the funding.

In a press release earlier this month, Rep. Maria Salazar (R-FL) said the doctors and staff "at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital are nothing short of miracle workers, and I am proud to support their work in Congress."

Salazar also shared a post on X showing her handing over big checks to hospital representatives.

But the Huffington Post points out that the money came from the Fiscal Year 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act, which she opposed.

Also read: Aileen Cannon denies Trump request to access classified filings

"What’s strange is that Salazar is not just taking credit for money that she voted against, she openly cites where this funding came from — and it’s very easy to look up her vote on this bill. It’s as if she is just hoping nobody notices," writes reporter Jennifer Bendery.

A spokesperson for Salazar reportedly said that even though the congresswoman opposed the bill, she made sure it was funded.

“Congresswoman Salazar secured this funding by working directly with Niklaus Children’s Hospital and working to get this included in federal funding legislation,” Mariza Smajlaj told HuffPost. “Unfortunately, the final bill also included wasteful measures and was far too large at $1.7 trillion.”

This echoes the sentiment of a Feb. 7 op-ed written by Salazar, in which said she “fought to get Miami’s priorities” into the legislation.

“I did not agree with that shameful practice or with wasteful measures,” Salazar wrote. "So I voted against the bill in final passage."