The Republican lawsuit to eliminate the ACA was made possible by Senator Collins’ vote for the 2017 GOP tax bill
The Supreme Court just announced that it will hear arguments in the Republican lawsuit to strike down the Affordable Care Act on November 10, exactly one week after election day. Senator Susan Collins paved the way for this lawsuit when she voted for the 2017 GOP tax bill, and has maintained that she doesn’t regret her vote “at all,” even as Republicans use the law to try to take health care from millions of Americans, including nearly 100,000 Mainers.
In legal filings, the Trump administration and Republicans have argued that Senator Collins “knowingly voted to destroy” the ACA “in its entirety.” Collins has attempted to distance herself from the unpopular lawsuit that she caused, but her own record confirms that she knew that repealing the individual mandate would put the entire ACA in jeopardy. In addition to creating a pathway for the lawsuit, Collins has also voted at least a dozen times to repeal or undermine the health care law.
Trump has vowed to “terminate” the ACA and has nominated a series of anti-health care judges to help him get it done. In the first two years of Trump’s term, Collins voted to confirm every single one of his judicial nominees, including casting a deciding vote to confirm Gregory Katsas, who led two cases challenging the ACA. Now, the fate of the health care law is in the hands of the Supreme Court, including the two Trump nominees that Collins voted to confirm.
“Our health care is on the ballot this November, and Mainers are ready to elect a new Senator who will fight for every one of us to have access to high quality and affordable care,” said Maine Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Marra. “In the middle of an historic public health crisis, Trump has continued his heartless crusade to take health care away from millions of Americans — aided and abetted by Senator Collins. Mainers deserve better, and that’s why we’ll send both Trump and Collins packing this year.”
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