Congressman John Katko has a lot more in common with Donald Trump than he lets on. Maybe that’s why Katko said he’d “back” Trump as his party’s nominee earlier this year.
So ahead of tonight’s debate, here are just five positions that Katko shares with Trump that he probably hopes his party’s nominee won’t bring up.
- Defunding Planned Parenthood: Since entering Congress, Katko has voted to defund Planned Parenthood four times, after promising Central New York voters he wouldn’t when he ran for Congress. Trump opposes funding for Planned Parenthood.
- Limiting Access to Contraception: Both Katko and Trump praised the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby decision to allow employers to deny access to contraceptive coverage to women.
- Thwarting Roe v. Wade: Katko said he would vote to repeal Roe v. Wade. Trump described Roe v. Wade as “wrongly decided” and argued that abortion rights were unconstitutional.
- Against Raising Minimum Wage: Katko opposed raising the minimum wage to $10.10 in 2014, and recently opposed gradually raising the state’s minimum wage to $15. Trump said he opposes raising the minimum wage and claimed that American wages are “too high.”
- Dismissing Equal Pay: Katko has voted to block consideration of the Paycheck Fairness Act. [H. Res. 189, Vote #148, 4/14/15; Bloomberg, 4/14/15; Congressional Record, 4/14/15]. Trump dismissed gender pay and said that women should do as good a job as men.
“Congressman John Katko and Donald Trump are more alike than Katko lets on when it comes to issues facing Central New York,” said Bryan Lesswing at the DCCC. “Whether it’s defunding Planned Parenthood or dismissing equal pay, it’s clear that a vote for John Katko is a vote for Donald Trump this November.”