U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., has called U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, to apologize after falsely claiming Matheson voted for the federal health care reform bill after his brother was nominated for a federal judgeship.
Speaking on Fox News on Monday, Barrasso said, "In Utah, a member from Utah that voted on the bill, he was against it and then he was for it. What a coincidence that his brother just got named to be a federal judge."
Matheson's brother Scott was
recently nominated to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals by the Obama Administration.
However,
as the blog Talking Points Memo pointed out, Matheson voted "no" during three House votes on Democratic health care reform bills: the House bill in November, the Senate bill on Sunday, and the reconciliation bill.
Barrasso spokesperson Emily Lawrimore said the senator "misspoke" and called Jim Matheson on Tuesday to apologize. As of Tuesday afternoon, though, he hadn't been able to reach Matheson.
"I think there were a lot of different stories last week about the appointment, and that's how he got or had the wrong idea," Lawrimore explained.
Indeed, in recent weeks there have been
numerous stories -- mostly from right-of-center media outlets -- questioning whether Scott Matheson's appointment was intended as a quid pro quo for his brother's support of the Democratic health care bill.
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