View this email in your browser ([link removed])
An update from FactCheck.org


** Democratic Ad Targets Collins' Votes
------------------------------------------------------------

Congressional votes are prime fodder for attack ads — which sometimes don’t tell the full story about why a lawmaker cast a particular vote or how votes on other legislation reveal a more nuanced position than what’s conveyed in a 30-second TV spot.

That’s the case in a Democratic ad attacking Republican Sen. Susan Collins in Maine. It claimed that she voted “to raise healthcare costs and raise insurance premiums,” as well as give President Donald Trump “a blank check for his war in Iran.”

As Senior Writer D’Angelo Gore writes, the ad, from the nonprofit issue advocacy group Majority Forward, cites her vote in September against a Democratic bill to, among other things, temporarily fund the federal government and permanently extend enhanced Affordable Care Act health insurance subsidies beyond their scheduled expiration at the end of 2025. Collins did support extending the subsidies, with some restrictions, but she said that issue should be addressed separately from a bill to prevent or end a government shutdown.

D'Angelo explains that later, in December, Collins called for legislation to temporarily extend the subsidies for two years, with an income cap for eligibility, and she voted to advance a Democratic bill to extend the tax credits for three years. That legislation failed.

As for the war in Iran, it's true that Collins voted multiple times against war powers resolutions that would stop military operations in Iran until Congress officially declared war or authorized the use of force. However, she said in mid-April that her position would “very likely” change if the conflict continued for more than 60 days. And on April 30, she was one of two Republicans to vote in favor of a war powers resolution that would require congressional approval for military action to continue.

That resolution failed, and the vote came about a week after the Majority Forward ad against Collins hit the airwaves. But it was still running in Maine as of at least May 3, according to AdImpact.

The Maine Senate race is one of several key races we'll follow during the midterm elections. Collins' presumptive Democratic challenger is Graham Platner, an oyster farmer and Marine Corps veteran.

Read the full story, "Democratic Ad Attacks Collins on Healthcare, Iran War ([link removed]) ."
IN THE NEWS
This week, the Supreme Court temporarily restored ([link removed]) access through the mail to the abortion medication mifepristone, while it considers a request from the drug's manufacturers to pause a lower court ruling. Days before the high court's May 4 order ([link removed]) , the federal appeals court in Louisiana had blocked distribution of the drug through the mail, saying it had to be obtained in person. We wrote last year about dubious claims made by Trump administration officials regarding mifepristone's safety. The Food and Drug Administration is conducting a review of the drug. Medication abortions make up most abortions in the U.S. Read more: "Trump Officials Cite Dubious Estimates of Medication Abortion Harms ([link removed]) ."
FEATURED FACTS
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will reduce federal Medicaid spending by more than $900 billion over a decade. However, annual Medicaid spending overall will still increase, from more than $600 billion in fiscal 2025 to well over $900 billion 10 years from now. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. repeatedly claimed that the overall increase meant that "there are no cuts to Medicaid" as a result of the OBBBA. But health policy experts told us that total spending on Medicaid is expected to still grow because of population changes and an increase in healthcare costs. Read more: "Kennedy Denies the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s Spending Cuts to Medicaid ([link removed]) ."
WORTHY OF NOTE
A survey by the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center, our parent organization, found ([link removed]) that 69% of adults trust vaccine scientists a moderate amount or more to "act in the best interest of people like you." That percentage is similar to, and not statistically different from, the 72% and 70% who said the same about medical scientists and scientists in general, respectively.

Last February, an Annenberg survey asked the same question regarding other professions. Seventy percent of respondents said they had moderate or higher trust in police officers or the military to "act in the best interest of people like you." These figures for scientists, police officers and the military are much higher than the 49% who had such trust in journalists and the 36% who had such trust in elected officials. Even religious leaders garnered such trust from only 47% of those surveyed.


** Wrapping Up
------------------------------------------------------------

Y lo que publicamos en español ([link removed]) (English versions are accessible in each story):
* Las infundadas afirmaciones de RFK Jr. sobre un estudio sobre Tylenol y autismo al que calificó de “basura” ([link removed])
Durante una audiencia del Congreso el 17 de abril, el secretario de Salud y Servicios Humanos, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., pidió la retractación de un nuevo estudio danés que no encontró un vínculo entre el Tylenol y el autismo, calificándolo repetidamente de “basura” y sugiriendo sin fundamento que había sido generado por la industria y que era “fraudulento”.

* Contexto para los ejemplos que citó Leavitt sobre una “violenta retórica” ([link removed])
Dos días después de que un hombre armado intentara entrar en la cena de la Asociación de Corresponsales de la Casa Blanca, la secretaria de prensa de la Casa Blanca, Karoline Leavitt, citó declaraciones de los demócratas que, según ella, están “incitando a la violencia” contra el presidente Donald Trump y otros republicanos. Sin embargo, varias de las declaraciones que citó fueron sacadas de contexto, un punto que el líder demócrata de la Cámara de Representantes, Hakeem Jeffries, recalcó al rebatirla.

Do you like FactCheck.Weekly? Share it with a friend! They can subscribe here ([link removed]) .
Donate to Support Our Work ([link removed])

============================================================
** Facebook ([link removed])
** Twitter ([link removed])
** Instagram ([link removed])
** Threads ([link removed])
** YouTube ([link removed])
** TikTok ([link removed])
** WhatsApp ([link removed])
We'll show up in your inbox every Friday with this fact-focused rundown. But you can message us any day of the week with questions or comments: [email protected].
Copyright © 2026 FactCheck.org, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
FactCheck.org
Annenberg Public Policy Center
P.O. Box 58100
Philadelphia, PA 19102

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed][UNIQID]&c=ff9a7620f9&utm_source=FactCheck.org&utm_campaign=8973cf70e3-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2026_05_07_07_34&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-8973cf70e3-48392213)
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed][UNIQID]&c=ff9a7620f9&utm_source=FactCheck.org&utm_campaign=8973cf70e3-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2026_05_07_07_34&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-8973cf70e3-48392213)
.

This email was sent to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
why did I get this? ([link removed]) unsubscribe from this list ([link removed]) update subscription preferences ([link removed])
FactCheck.org: A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center . P.O. Box 58100 . Philadelphia, Pa 19102 . USA