Rep. Ronny Jackson lauded his efforts in expanding infrastructure in his home state of Texas, despite voting against the bipartisan bill that secured funding for projects.
The Texas Republican zeroed in on a water purification project, dubbed the Red River Chloride Control Project, which would remove salt from water in a lake used as a source for drinking water.
“My staff and I have been deeply engaged on this issue for months now because safe drinking water for our communities is nonnegotiable, and because it’s my firm belief that the federal government had a duty in this situation to either continue funding the project or ensure a smooth transition to local control,” Mr. Jackson said in a statement.
Funding for the project was secured through the bipartisan infrastructure package championed by President Biden, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Mr. Jackson voted against the bill last year, arguing that it didn’t address infrastructure needs and called it “terrible.”
Only 13 House Republicans joined Democrats in passing the bill. In the Senate, 19 Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, voted in favor of the package.
Mr. Jackson, who served as the White House doctor in the Obama and Trump administrations, publicly announced his decision to vote against the bill weeks before it came to the House floor.
“I will not be voting for Pelosi’s bloated ‘infrastructure’ bill, which spits in the face of the patriotic values my constituents expect out of their representation in Washington. I love the Panhandle, and I can’t in good conscience support such a TERRIBLE bill,” Mr. Jackson tweeted in October.
Former President Donald Trump, who failed to pass infrastructure legislation during his administration, blasted the Republican members who supported the package.
“Very sad that RINOs in the House and Senate gave Biden and Democrats a victory on the ‘Non-Infrastructure’ Bill,” Mr. Trump said at the time. “All Republicans who voted for Democrat longevity should be ashamed of themselves, in particular Mitch McConnell, for granting a two-month stay which allowed the Democrats time to work things out at our Country’s, and the Republican Party’s, expense!”
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