Claire Conner McCaskill
McCaskill served two Senate terms before losing to Josh Hawley in 2018. This profile grades her 2012-cycle second term (Jan 2013-Jan 2019), notable for her work on military sexual assault, opioid investigations, and her conservative-leaning votes in a state Trump won by 18 points.
Claire Conner McCaskill
- among Democratic senators4th of 50
- among all senators16th of 115
All tracked promises
Address military sexual assault.
McCaskill's Victim Protection Act passed the Senate 97-0 on March 10, 2014 and was included in the FY2015 NDAA. She blocked Sen. Gillibrand's broader prosecutorial-discretion reform; that reform did not pass during her term.
Protect the Affordable Care Act.
McCaskill voted no on the skinny repeal (failed 49-51, July 28, 2017) and on the BCRA. She voted yes on every Democratic effort to defend ACA marketplaces.
Investigate opioid manufacturers and pharmacy benefit managers.
McCaskill as Senate Homeland Security ranking member led extensive opioid investigations releasing reports on Insys Therapeutics (Sep 2017) and Purdue Pharma; her work contributed to the bipartisan SUPPORT Act (Pub.L. 115-271, Oct 24, 2018).
Vote against unqualified Trump nominees.
McCaskill voted no on Gorsuch (April 7, 2017) and no on Kavanaugh (Oct 6, 2018). She voted yes on a number of Trump cabinet picks (Mattis, Kelly, Sessions).
Vote against the TCJA tax bill.
McCaskill voted no on the TCJA (Dec 20, 2017, 51-48). She had argued throughout that the bill disproportionately benefited corporations and high earners.
Strengthen veterans health care access.
McCaskill voted yes on the Veterans Choice Act (Pub.L. 113-146, Aug 7, 2014) and the VA MISSION Act (Pub.L. 115-182, June 6, 2018), both substantially expanding non-VA care options.
Address rising prescription drug prices.
McCaskill led a Senate investigation into pharma pricing and EpiPen pricing in particular. She introduced the Empower Act and other legislation to allow drug importation. None of her drug-pricing legislation became law.
Oppose privatization of Social Security and Medicare.
McCaskill voted no on every privatization or premium-support proposal that received a vote. No major entitlement-restructuring legislation reached final passage during her term.
Support balanced approach on immigration.
McCaskill voted yes on the Gang of Eight bill (June 27, 2013). She voted yes on Feb 2018 amendments to provide DACA-recipient protections in exchange for $25B in border-security funding; the package failed.
Protect Missouri agricultural interests from trade-war damage.
McCaskill publicly opposed Trump's tariffs and the resulting Chinese retaliatory tariffs on U.S. soybeans, but no legislation she introduced to constrain tariff authority advanced. Missouri soybean prices fell ~20% mid-2018.
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