Pro-Trump Group Nixes Ads Targeting Heller On Health Care Amid Complaints

UNITED STATES - APRIL 26: Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., makes a statement in opposition to using Yucca Mountain as a nuclear waste disposal site during the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environme... UNITED STATES - APRIL 26: Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., makes a statement in opposition to using Yucca Mountain as a nuclear waste disposal site during the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment hearing on the "Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act Of 2017" on Wednesday, April 26, 2017. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call) (CQ Roll Call via AP Images) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

America First Policies, a super PAC run by former Trump campaign aides, on Tuesday pulled ads targeting Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) on health care after other GOP senators complained to the White House that the ads could hurt both their attempt to pass an Obamacare repeal bill and Heller’s re-election chances.

“America First Policies is pleased to learn that Senator Dean Heller has decided to come back to the table to negotiate with his colleagues on the Senate bill,” the group said in statement, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “We have pulled the ads we released earlier today in Nevada, and we remain hopeful that Senator Heller and his colleagues can agree on what the American people already know: that repealing and replacing Obamacare must happen for America to move forward and be great again.”

The television and radio ads that began airing Tuesday called out Heller for opposing the latest draft of the Senate’s bill to repeal and replace Obamacare and urged the senator to support the legislation.

The ads were pulled after Republican senators reportedly scolded the White House for the attack on one of their own.

Heller himself brought up the ads at Senate Republicans’ Tuesday afternoon meeting at the White House, a spokesman for Heller told Politico. Sen. John Thune (R-SD), the No. 3 Republican in the Senate, also told reporters that the ads came up at the meeting, per Politico.

Before Heller brought up the ads on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) had called White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus to complain about the ads, according to the New York Times. McConnell told Preibus that the ads could hurt Heller’s re-election chances, as well as the Obamacare repeal effort’s chances, per the report.

Latest DC
3
Show Comments

Notable Replies

  1. So the motto is: spend money - lots of it - on anything as long as it doesn’t help ordinary Americans and keeps people hating each other.

  2. Trump and his retribution / dominance thing. Goes bad with stupid and Trumps go that too. If the people of Nevada wanted…they could set the course for America. I’ve dreamed of someone taking the opportunity Nevadan’s have to flip big money the bird and tell em “spend away assholes. We aint listening”. If they like their Senator they should support him. Let him know they have his back and no amount of PAC crap or billionaire bucks is going to change that. He’d be invincible. He could put serious hurt on Trump and tell the GOP…I’m free…I don’t need you.

    It’s a dream but I like it.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

Participants

Avatar for system1 Avatar for richardinjax Avatar for carolson

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: