McConnell-backed group spends $70 million on attack ads filled with lies, distortions

One Nation, a dark money group affiliated with Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell, is running a series of ads accusing Democratic lawmakers of giving federal handouts to noncitizens. These claims are false.

Politico reported in May that One Nation was spending $70 million on ads in Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The group previously announced a $15 million expenditure in Montana. All of these states have pivotal U.S. Senate elections in November.

Sens. Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Jon Tester of Montana are considered the most vulnerable Democrats up for reelection this year. Their races will likely determine which party controls the higher chamber in 2025.

All of the ads use similar language. A spot attacking Brown asserts, “Brown voted to give illegals Social Security benefits and in favor of taxpayer funded health care for illegals.” An ad aimed at Tester states “Tester voted to let illegals take your tax dollars, including free health care and COVID relief checks.”

Federal law explicitly prohibits undocumented immigrants from accessing Medicaid, Medicare, or Affordable Care Act benefits. This is also the case for Social Security. Both ads cite a March 2013 vote the senators made opposing a Republican resolution to deny federal health care benefits to undocumented immigrants who obtain legal status. This is not the same as extending those benefits to noncitizens.

The resolution did not pass.

The claim that Tester voted to give COVID relief checks to noncitizens is a similar distortion. Separate ads make the same accusation against Brown and Nevada Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen.

The 2021 American Rescue Plan, which was signed into law by President Joe Biden, provided $1,400 COVID relief checks to more than 476 million American households. The funds were provided to individuals with Social Security numbers, which undocumented immigrants do not have. 

All three ads cite a Fox News report from Feb. 2021 about COVID relief funds going to local groups that support undocumented residents. Checks were not given directly to noncitizens.

Many of the claims in these ads are not new and have been debunked previously. In 2010 and 2014, the National Republican Senatorial Committee ran ads accusing Democratic Senators of voting to extend Social Security benefits to noncitizens. Fact checking outlets rated those claims as “false.”