Michael Smolens: GOP campaign committee makes audacious claims for Rep. Issa

Thanks to Rep. Darrell Issa, violent crime is plummeting nationwide and California is receiving more than $233 million in rural health care funding.

At least that’s the view of the National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee. The NRCC in recent weeks has put out a series of statements seemingly crediting the San Diego-area Republican with almost single-handedly forging such progress.

The reality is a bit different.

There’s no question Issa has supported anti-crime policies for the more than two decades he’s been in Congress, particularly during the two Trump administrations, and backed the recent plan for a $50 billion outlay for rural health services nationwide.

So did hundreds of other members of Congress, who similarly had no outsized role in these outcomes.

The rural health care release from the NRCC came just days before Issa, a Trump loyalist, voted against extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits, which passed the House despite opposition from GOP leadership and the president.

Odds are that during the campaign Issa’s vote will far overshadow his support for boosting rural health care — if his Democratic opponent has anything to say about it.

Perhaps more than anything, the NRCC actions signal the GOP is four-square behind Issa’s re-election in the 48th Congressional District, which had been a deeply red enclave that now leans Democratic thanks to the redistricting mania that swept through several states.

That’s not a surprise, given Issa’s San Diego-based district is considered a top battleground for partisan control of the House, where Republicans hold a slim majority.

Issa wasn’t committed to the new district at the outset. There was speculation he might jump to a nearby Republican district and, in a move that made national headlines, Issa openly considered running for a district in Texas. After a meeting with Trump, he decided to stay put.

Meanwhile, the NRCC has also sent out missives attempting to skewer the leading Democrats in the race — former Issa congressional opponent Ammar Campa-Najjar and San Diego City Councilmember Marni von Wilpert.

Big GOP money has yet to be spent, but that wouldn’t happen until months from now, with Issa expected to advance easily out of the June primary to the November election.

The NRCC moves would seem to put to rest any notion that Issa will drop out of the race before the election, something Campa-Najjar has continued to predict would happen as recently as a couple of weeks ago during a CNN interview.

The NRCC suggests Issa took a leading role in combating crime, but had some help. The big reductions last year coincided with Trump’s return to the White House.

“Thanks to Congressman Darrell Issa, violent crime is plummeting nationwide as Republican leadership restores law and order,” the committee said. “The country is on track for the largest single-year drop in murders ever recorded, with killings down nearly 20 percent from last year.”

The statement notes other violent crimes are dropping as well, “marking a clear break from years of Democrats’ soft-on-crime failures.”

The statistics are backed up with a link to an analysis by the Axios news organization, which nevertheless has a different perspective.

“The decline in killings is part of a broader decrease in violent crime following the COVID-era spike. Mass killings in the U.S. also fell in 2025, reaching their lowest level since 2006,” according to Axios.

“…President Trump has prioritized cracking down on violent crime in his second term, though there is no clear evidence linking his policies to the decline. Crime rates have been declining since 2021, according to data,” Axios added.

Except for the COVID era, crime in San Diego also has been on a downward trend for many years, making it one of the safest big cities in America. Under the NRCC logic, big credit would go to von Wilpert, who has been on the council for a handful of years and serves as chair of its public safety committee.

Interestingly, New York, Chicago, Memphis and Los Angeles County — all Democratic — experienced big double-digit reductions in murders compared with 2024, according to Axios. By comparison, predominantly Republican Johnston County, N.C., and Gilbert, Ariz., reported huge increases in the murder rate.

Not surprisingly, the NRCC release doesn’t mention that Trump’s Department of Justice slashed an estimated $500 million in federal funding for programs to help local and state justice initiatives, including policing, crime prevention, victim services and juvenile justice.

The increased health care funding will certainly be welcome in rural areas, many of which have distant and struggling medical services. That’s good regardless of politics, though much of rural America is Republican territory. Nevertheless, it might not benefit Issa as much as it would have in his current district.

The new 48th District expands north and west, losing much of its backcountry population in East County and adding Escondido, San Marcos and Vista. It also now includes heavily-Democratic Palm Springs in Riverside County.

“Congressman Darrell Issa continues to show that he is laser-focused on what matters to California families. Delivering quality, accessible healthcare is a critical win for California, and voters won’t forget it,” NRCC spokesman Christian Martinez says in the release.

Many may not forget his vote against the extension of ACA tax credits either.

“Once again, Rep. Darrell Issa has betrayed his constituents to protect Donald Trump and his party leadership, even as health care costs spiral out of control,” von Wilpert said in a statement.

Along with Medicaid cuts supported by Issa, von Wilpert cited congressional statistics projecting more than 32,000 of Issa’s constituents will lose health insurance. She said Issa has voted 17 times to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

Campa-Najjar said in a statement that Issa failed “to protect the ACA tax credits that working families rely on to afford their health care.”

Issa and other Republicans have said the ACA needs reforms to drive down costs if it is to remain viable and suggested the program is riddled with fraud. Among other things, Issa has pursued legislation to lower prescription drug costs.

Republican House leaders unsuccessfully sought to avoid the latest ACA vote, knowing it would displease Trump and potentially hurt vulnerable Republicans like Issa. Seventeen other Republicans joined Democrats in voting to extend the tax credits. The bill is pending in the Senate.

Back in 2018, Issa represented a once-red district in North County that had eventually turned purple and a defeat seemed in the cards. He chose not to run after his loyalty to Trump and a pivotal vote he cast against the increasingly popular ACA supercharged Democrats in the district.

It seems at least some of that history is repeating itself.