'I'm not hospitalized,' Republican senator tweets after Trump says he's 'in the hospital'
A Republican senator tweeted Wednesday that he is not in the hospital, after President Donald Trump repeatedly cited his supposed hospitalization as a reason Republicans did not have enough votes to pass healthcare legislation in the Senate.
"Thanks for the well-wishes," tweeted Sen. Thad Cochran of Mississippi. "I'm not hospitalized, but am recuperating at home in Mississippi and look forward to returning to work soon."
Trump began Wednesday by tweeting that one Senate "yes" vote was in the hospital, preventing senators from voting on the Graham-Cassidy legislation ahead of a September 30 deadline under which just a simple majority would be required to pass the bill. Republicans announced Tuesday they would not bring the legislation forward for a vote.
Reports later said that Trump was referencing Cochran. He was recovering from treatment for a urological issue, USA Today reported.
Speaking to reporters before departing Washington, DC, for Indiana, Trump repeated many times that one senator was "in the hospital" when explaining why a vote on healthcare legislation would have to wait.
"Trump just said on six occasions a senator can't vote because he is in the hospital," tweeted Politico reporter Josh Dawsey. "No one is known to be in the hospital."
"Trump just said 6 times that Graham-Cassidy failed because 'there was a senator in the hospital,'" tweeted CNBC reporter Christina Wilkie. "There are no senators in the hospital."
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