House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said today she doesn’t know Jonathan Gruber, the man credited with helping congressional Democrats draft Obamacare.
“I don’t know who he is. He didn’t help write our bill … let’s put him aside,” said Pelosi.
But shortly after making the claim, video of then-Speaker Pelosi surfaced, in which he she mentioned the MIT economic by name in 2009:
I don’t know if you have seen Jonathan Gruber of MIT’s analysis of what the comparison is to the status quo versus what will happen in our bill for those who seek insurance within the exchange. And our bill takes down those costs, even some now, and much less preventing the upward spiral.
Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill later told the Washington Post, “She said she doesn’t ‘know who he is,’ not that she’s never heard of him.”
Gruber came under fire this week for comments he made about the Affordable Care Act.
As The Daily Signal previously reported, Gruber said that a “lack of transparency is a huge political advantage,” adding:
“Basically, call it the stupidity of the American voter or whatever, but basically that was really, really critical for the thing to pass.”
Pelosi is not the only elected official whose previous praise for Gruber surfaced in light of the controversy.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., called Gruber “one of the most respected economists in the world.”
Former Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., said “most people believe [Gruber] is one of the best outside experts.”
