In Trump’s First 500 Days in Office, Katko Votes in Support of Trump’s Positions 90.8% of Time
AFTER MONTHS OF INSISTING TRUMP “DOES NOT DESERVE SUPPORT,” JOHN KATKO CONTINUES GIVING THE PRESIDENT HIS VOTES IN CONGRESS
In Trump’s First 500 Days In Office, John Katko Voted In Support Of Trump’s Positions 90.8 Percent Of Time, According to FiveThirtyEight
Speak Out CNY Marks Trump’s 500th Day In Office With John Katko’s Top 5 Trump-Supporting Votes In Congress
SYRACUSE — Congressman John Katko used to work hard to make sure his constituents understood: “There is absolutely no way I can support [Trump]. I want to make it clear that from the beginning I haven’t supported him.” That was back in 2016, before Donald Trump became President. But in the 500 days since Trump took office, Katko has supported President Trump’s agenda more than 90 percent of the time, in the most powerful way he can – with his votes in Congress.
According to research from FiveThirtyEight, Congressman Katko voted in line with Trump’s agenda 90.8 percent of the time, including for the disastrous TrumpTax, which will actually raise New Yorkers’ tax burden by $2.4 billion in just 2019 alone, and sends more than 80 percent of its benefits to the richest 1 percent of the country.
To “celebrate” John Katko’s fealty to President Trump, SpeakOutCNY is counting down the five biggest votes the Congressman has taken in the last 500 days to support Trump:
5. “I am certainly not going to vote for him.” – John Katko, October 8, 2016
March 28, 2017: Katko votes according to Trump’s wishes and repeals the FCC rule that stopped internet providers from sharing customer data, allowing his constituents’ information to be shared by those companies. Instead of standing up for his own constituents’ rights as consumers, Katko instead followed Trump’s lead and voted in line with his party, just under six months after declaring there was “no way” he would support Trump.
4. “There’s absolutely no way I can support [Trump].” – John Katko, October 8, 2016
May 2, 2017: John Katko votes against the best interests of hard working Central New Yorkers, supporting a bill that will allow employers to stiff workers on overtime pay, and instead give them vacation time in exchange for putting in extra hours. Interestingly, Congressman Katko would later tout his passage of a bill to help Secret Service agents by getting them…overtime pay.
3. “I want to make it clear that from the beginning I haven’t supported [Trump].” – John Katko, October 8, 2016
February 1, 2017 and July 18, 2017: John Katko aligns himself with both Donald Trump and polluters, and against the best interests of New York’s environment and the critical Finger Lakes watershed. Katko voted to both repeal the Stream Protection Rule – which stopped mining corporations and other industrial operations from dumping waste into waterways – and todelay the implementation of new ozone standards.
2. “I think Trump should think seriously about [dropping out of the presidential race]. In my mind, he should.” – John Katko, October 8, 2016
June 8, 2017 & May 22, 2018: Katko sides with not just Trump, but big banks and Wall Street executives instead of his own constituents, voting to gut the Dodd-Frank Act and let the financial sector once again run roughshod over their responsibilities to consumers and investors, recreating the circumstances that led to the economic collapse of 2008. It’s probably just a coincidence that Katko also routinely rakes in thousands in campaign contributions from major Wall Street firms like Blackstone and Goldman Sachs.
1.”I’ve talked repeatedly with my family and people I consider close to me. We are all roundly disgusted. We just all came to the same conclusion that [Trump] does not deserve support.” – John Katko, October 8, 2016
November 16, 2017: John Katko stands with President Trump on the most critical piece of legislation of Trump’s first year, voting to pass the disastrous TrumpTax and giving away a $1.5 trillion tax break to wealthy corporations and campaign donors. Katko has claimed the bill will raise worker wages and create jobs, but that’s already been proven completely false. Corporations are spending 66 times as much buying back stock to reward shareholders and executives as they’re spending on worker raises or bonuses. Since the bill passed, just 4.2 percent of workers have received pay increases.
Just this week, Harley-Davidson announced it would shutter a massive manufacturing center, costing hundreds of jobs, even after it spent millions buying back its stock and funneling wealth straight into the pockets of its investors.
About Speak Out Central New York
Speak Out CNY is dedicated to educating and empowering Central New Yorkers through grassroots organizing, digital advocacy, and community partnerships. By advocating for policies that help working families make ends meet, we aim to encourage our members of Congress to protect our health care and work to expand economic opportunity.
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