Republican attack ads against Warnock and Kelly mislead about Medicare

The official campaign arm of Senate Republicans has been running attack ads that mislead viewers about how a law signed by President Joe Biden in August will affect seniors enrolled in Medicare.

One of the National Republican Senatorial Committee ads shows a senior sitting alone, looking sad, as a narrator claims Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia supported “deep cuts in Medicare spending.” A second ad shows a senior receiving help moving his legs as the narrator claims, “Warnock voted with Biden to slash Medicare spending.” A third ad features a claim that Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona “went along with nearly $300 billion less in Medicare spending for seniors.”

Small text in all three ads makes clear that these Medicare claims are about Warnock and Kelly voting for the Inflation Reduction Act, the major health care, climate and tax law that squeaked through the Senate thanks to Vice President Kamala Harris’ tiebreaking vote.

But experts on Medicare say that the ads deceptively depict that law.