DGA Statement on Patricia Morgan’s Announcement in RI-GOV

Today, DGA Communications Director Jared Leopold released the following statement on GOP House Minority Leader Patricia Morgan’s announced candidacy in the Rhode Island gubernatorial race:

“Patricia Morgan is a far-right politician who wants to bring Donald Trump’s disastrous agenda to Rhode Island. Morgan is in favor of Trump’s tax plan and Trumpcare, which threatened to jack up premiums, kick thousands off their coverage, and ruin the state’s budget.  She tried to restrict access to reproductive services for Rhode Island women and fought to keep guns in the hands of domestic abusers. Patricia Morgan puts her own partisan ideology before the needs of Rhode Island families. She is wrong for Rhode Island.”

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Morgan Supported Trump’s Tax Plan. According to GoLocalProv Patricia Morgan wrote a letter to Donald Trump reading, “In addition, I wholeheartedly support your plans for corporate tax relief.  As you encourage corporations to ‘on-shore’ wealth, we in Rhode Island want to be well positioned to provide a US home for these repatriated corporations and industries. That said, I would be thrilled to work with your staff to help me prepare legislation to position Rhode Island to become a destination for these firms and corporations.” [GoLocalProv, 1/31/17] 

Morgan Said It Would Be “Hard” To Use A “Pool Of Money” – A Block Grant – For Medicaid Funds, But She Said The Scheme Would “Give Everybody Good Healthcare” At A Lower Cost. According to WPRI, “House Republican Leader Patricia Morgan said expanding Medicaid eligibility was already going to cost Rhode Island a significant amount of money, even without the reduction in the federal reimbursements that Congress is considering. […] ‘It’s my understanding that the federal government will be giving us a pool of money, but it will be in our court,’ Morgan said. ‘Will it be hard to do? Obviously, it will be hard to do. But we will be able to come up with solutions to make that money stretch to still give everybody good health care, but at the same time lower the cost of providing health care.’” [WPRI, 3/22/17] 

• RI Health And Human Services Secretary Called Trump’s Proposed Obamacare Replacement A “Grave Threat” To Rhode Island’s Health Care System. According to WPRI, “Acting Health and Human Services Secretary Anya Rader Wallack is calling President Trump’s proposed Obamacare replacement ‘a grave threat’ to Rhode Island’s health care system, arguing it will cut hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding and make insurance more expensive for older residents.” [WPRI, 3/22/17]

Morgan Introduced An Amendment Requiring The Insurance Exchange To Offer A Reduced Price For Plans That Do Not Cover Abortion. According to the Providence Journal, “Rep. Patricia Morgan, the former head of the state GOP, introduced an amendment to require the state’s soon-to-emerge health exchange to offer reduced-price plans that do ‘not provide coverage’ for abortions alongside those that do.” [Providence Journal, 6/26/13]

In June 2017, Morgan Voted Against Disarming Domestic Abusers. According to the Associated Press, “A yearslong debate in Rhode Island over disarming domestic abusers came close to a resolution Monday as the state House of Representatives voted to pass a bill that would take guns away from people on restraining orders. The House voted 55-12 to pass the bill after a lengthy debate. It now moves to the state Senate, just days before both Democratic- controlled legislative chambers are preparing to adjourn for the year. […] The legislation would also impose a six-year gun ban for anyone convicted of a violent crime and such misdemeanors as simple assault, cyberstalking and disorderly conduct when it involves force or threatened use of a weapon. ‘You’re trying to take a constitutional right away for a misdemeanor,’ said Republican House Minority Leader Patricia Morgan, who voted against the bill and compared it to taking away someone’s right to peaceably assemble if they were arrested at a protest.” [Associated Press, 6/27/17]