The former majority leader of the Kansas state senate charged that Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City (KS) “single-handedly torpedoed” a Medicaid expansion bill in 2020.
“So if you were an opponent of Medicaid expansion, then he’s your guy,” said Denning, a Republican. “If you were a proponent, you’re mad at him. He single-handedly torpedoed the bill because he said, ‘You can’t vote for Medicaid expansion until the abortion amendment passes with the public.’ So he killed it. It never came out of committee.”
Denning’s words were quoted in a tendentious op-ed piece; Chuck Weber, executive director of the Kansas Catholic Conference, said that Denning’s characterization is “simply not accurate.”