RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Gov. Terry McAuliffe left an angry voice message for a state senator after the southwest Virginia Democrat effectively sunk the governor’s effort to expand Medicaid.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch (http://bit.ly/1zbeG3t) reported Wednesday that former Sen. Phillip Puckett’s attorney confirmed the “angry call.” A spokesman for the governor said he’d do it again.
Puckett resigned in June, giving Republicans control of the Senate and sinking McAuliffe’s top legislative priority.
McAuliffe spokesman Brian Coy said the governor has no misgivings about making the call.
He said the governor was “understandably upset” that Puckett played a key role in the demise of a plan to care for hundreds of thousands of sick and poor Virginians.
The circumstances of Puckett’s resignation are part of a federal investigation.
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