Tag: michael whatley
Senate GOP Ads Broadcast Lies On Immigrants, Medicaid And Trump Budget

Senate GOP Ads Broadcast Lies On Immigrants, Medicaid And Trump Budget

The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) is running ads in multiple states that spread disinformation about Medicaid and undocumented immigrants.

The ads target Democratic Senate candidates in Ohio, Alaska, Iowa, Georgia, New Hampshire, North Carolina, and Michigan for not supporting the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB), which the NRSC claims stopped undocumented immigrants from receiving Medicaid benefits.

This claim is false. Federal law already barred undocumented people from accessing Medicaid, Medicare, CHIP, and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) coverage. Instances of undocumented people being erroneously enrolled in these programs are extremely rare.

Republicans have made this claim about OBBB repeatedly since the legislation was introduced. Health policy experts, including the Kaiser Family Foundation and Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy, have repeatedly debunked it.

The law does, however, make profound changes to Medicaid. OBBB will cut about $1 trillion from the health insurance program over the next decade, resulting in up to 12 million Americans losing their coverage. The bulk of those cuts will fund tax breaks that disproportionately benefit the wealthy.

Sens. Jon Husted (OH) and Dan Sullivan (AK) both voted for OBBB, as did Reps. Ashley Hinson (IA) and Mike Collins (GA), who are both running for Senate this year. Former New Hampshire Sen. John Sununu and former Michigan Rep. Mike Rogers, who are also running for Senate, have both publicly praised the law.

Michael Whatley, the Republican Senate candidate in North Carolina, said he would have voted for OBBB “in a heartbeat.”

A tracking poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that OBBB is deeply unpopular with voters. Sixty-four percent of respondents have an unfavorable view of the law. Among independents, 71 percent oppose it.

President Donald Trump has proposed additional tax cuts and further cuts to government programs if Republicans retain control of the House and Senate after the 2026 elections.

Reprinted with permission from American Journal News

North Carolina Senate Nominee Stands By January 6 Pardons Despite Sex Crimes

North Carolina Senate Nominee Stands By January 6 Pardons Despite Sex Crimes

Republican Michael Whatley continued to defend President Donald Trump’s pardons of January 6 insurrectionists, even after it was discovered that some of those individuals had been charged with sex crimes.

Trump issued a blanket pardon to everyone who participated in the 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol, despite initially promising to pardon only nonviolent offenders. NPR later reported that dozens of those rioters had prior convictions or pending charges, including for rape and the sexual abuse of minors.

Whatley, who is a candidate for the U.S. Senate in North Carolina, was asked during a February meet-and-greet whether he still supported Trump’s pardons. Whatley said, “Yeah,” and described the prosecutions as “malicious.”

NPR identified one of the pardoned rioters as David Daniel of Mint Hill, N.C., who was previously charged with producing sexually explicit material featuring a minor under the age of 12. Daniel argued that Trump’s pardon applied to this offense as well. A judge disagreed and he ultimately pleaded guilty to the offense.

Others were charged with sex crimes after the pardons were issued.

Andrew Paul Johnson of Florida received a life sentence in March for molesting a child under 12 and another under 16. He told one of his victims that he expected a settlement from the federal government related to the pardon and offered to share it with the victim if they stayed quiet.

Johnson may have gotten this idea from Trump himself, who tried to create a slush fund to pay victims of so-called “government weaponization,” which would presumably include the pardoned rioters.

Whatley said he supported the fund, which is currently being blocked by a federal judge.

Whatley’s tolerance of this behavior risks drawing attention to another scandal. From 2019 to 2024, he served as chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party. During that time, he appointed Harvey West to two party committees, according to a March report by the Asheville Watchdog, despite West having pleaded guilty in 2000 to taking indecent liberties with a minor.

Trump has endorsed Whatley’s campaign. Whatley will face former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper in the general election.

Dan Sullivan

New Research Report Accuses GOP Senate Candidates Of Self-Enrichment

A new memo from End Citizens United flags ethics concerns about five Republicans competing in marquee Senate races.

Since 2015, End Citizens United has worked to eliminate dark money in U.S. politics by calling out corruption and elevating candidates who support commonsense campaign finance reforms.

The memo alleges that Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan, Maine Sen. Susan Collins, former Michigan Rep. Mike Rogers, former New Hampshire Sen. John Sununu, and North Carolina Republican Michael Whatley have all engaged in patterns of double-dealing and self-enrichment.

End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller says these Republicans “have spent their political careers leveraging their influence, cashing in on their connections, and abusing the public trust for personal gain instead of fighting for their constituents.”

The memo details, for example, how Sullivan has repeatedly voted to advance the interests of RPM International, a chemical manufacturing company run by his brother and in which he holds up to a $5 million stake. This includes blocking an amendment that would have allowed the EPA to crack down on cancer-causing pollutants and substances.

The memo also lays out Sullivan’s side hustle as a stock trader. He has made up to $2 million worth of trades while in office and has an estimated net worth of $8.29 million.

Collins is also a prolific stock trader, the memo says. Last year, she dodged questions from a reporter about her husband owning shares of Boeing, RTX Corporation (formerly Raytheon), and other companies regulated by Congress.

Collins claimed to have no knowledge of her husband’s financial dealings despite reporting them in her own personal financial disclosures. Both Collins and Sullivan opposed a bipartisan effort to ban stock trading by members of Congress and their spouses.

Rogers, meanwhile, left Congress a decade ago, reportedly to pursue money-making ventures. According to the memo, he leveraged his national security expertise into lucrative consulting gigs with multinational corporations, including a cell phone company that helped Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro spy on civilians.

Rogers is now running for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat with the backing of President Donald Trump.

Sununu, another Trump-backed candidate, followed a similar trajectory. After leaving the Senate in 2009, he went to work for a lobbying firm whose clients included Pfizer, Gilead, Merck, Bayer, and Johnson & Johnson. He is now trying to return to the Senate on a platform of lowering health care costs.

Whatley also had an extensive lobbying career. He spent more than a decade advancing the interests of oil and natural gas companies. His current oil and gas investments are worth up to $1.39 million and have grown substantially as a result of the war in Iran.

“Voters expect elected officials to fight for hardworking families, not to cozy up to special interests and then walk through the revolving door to cash in,” Muller said. “We’re committed to holding these Revolving Door Republicans accountable for putting themselves and their donors ahead of the people they’re supposed to serve.”

End Citizens United has endorsed the likely Democratic candidates in these races: former Rep. Mary Peltola in Alaska, oysterman Graham Platner in Maine, Rep. Chris Papas in New Hampshire, and former Gov. Roy Cooper in North Carolina.

Michigan’s Democratic Senate candidate will be chosen in an August 4 primary.

Reprinted with permission from American Journal News

Republicans Collins And Whatley Booked Big Profits From Iran War Oil Spike

Republicans Collins And Whatley Booked Big Profits From Iran War Oil Spike

Two Republicans competing in marquee Senate races appear to be financially benefiting from the war in Iran.

Maine Sen. Susan Collins and North Carolina Republican Michael Whatley have both seen their stock portfolios soar since the war began on February 28, largely because of their investments in oil and gas.

American-produced oil shot up in value after the war disrupted the global oil trade. This has led to a surge in gas prices and increased profits for some oil and gas companies.

The U.S. and Iran entered a two week ceasefire agreement on March 7, but it is unclear if the plan will stabalize the oil market.

Leo Mariana, a research analyst at Roth Capital Partners, told The Guardian that the war has been a “windfall” for energy investors.

Among those investors are Collins and her husband, who reported owning up to $115,000 in natural gas stock on her campaign finance disclosures. This includes shares of ConocoPhillips, that hit a 52-week high on March 26.

Between the start of the war and April 1, Collins profited by up to $24,480 from these investments.

Whatley also owns shares of ConocoPhillips, along with Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Devon Energy, and Shell. His total oil and gas investments are worth up to $1.39 million.

With the help of the war, Whatley has profited by up to $219,660.

Both Whatley and Collins have expressed support for the war in Iran, a stance that risks putting them out of step with most voters. A Pew Research Center survey from March found that 61 percent of voters don’t support the conflict.

Whatley’s Democratic opponent, former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, said on X that the war was “devastating” and unwise.

“Americans fear another costly, drawn-out war that puts our troops in harm’s way and removes focus and resources from needs here at home,” Cooper said. “Americans deserve to know all the long-term objectives of this war, its risks and the exit strategy.”

Collins’ Democratic opponent will be chosen in a June 9 primary.

Reprinted with permission from American Journal News

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