White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Tuesday that he doesn’t believe Republican the effort to fight gun violence by boosting spending on mental healthcare coverage is genuine.
“I don’t believe Republicans when they say they care about expanding mental healthcare for the American people,” Earnest said. He was asked by reporters if accepting Republican gun control plans in the Senate on Monday would have been “better than nothing.”
Earnest said Republican opposition to the Affordable Care Act, which he said has expanded mental healthcare access more than any other government effort, is evidence enough for him not to “take seriously claims from Republicans that they actually care about enhancing mental healthcare in this country.”
“I don’t believe them when they say that. And I think their record makes it very hard to make a convincing case,” he said.
