Betsy McCaughey Ross
| Betsy McCaughey | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Lieutenant Governor of New York | |
|
In office January 1, 1995 – December 31, 1998 |
|
| Governor | George Pataki |
| Preceded by | Stan Lundine |
| Succeeded by | Mary Donohue |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Elizabeth Helen Peterken October 20, 1948 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican (2010–present; before 1997) |
| Other political affiliations |
Democratic (1997–2010) |
| Spouse(s) |
Thomas K. McCaughey (m. 1972; div. 1994) Wilbur Ross, Jr. (m. 1995; div. 1998) |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater |
Vassar College (B.A.) Columbia University (M.A., Ph.D.) |
| Profession |
Political commentator, Constitutional historian |
| Religion | Episcopalian |
Elizabeth "Betsy" McCaughey (/məˈkɔɪ/; born Elizabeth Helen Peterken, October 20, 1948), formerly known as Betsy McCaughey Ross, is an American politician who was the Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1995 to 1998, during the first term of Governor George Pataki. She unsuccessfully sought the Democratic Party nomination for Governor after Pataki dropped her from his 1998 ticket, and she ended up on the ballot under the Liberal Party line. In August 2016 the Donald Trump presidential campaign announced that she had joined on as an economic adviser.
A historian by training, with a Ph.D. from Columbia University, McCaughey has, over the years, provided conservative media commentary on US public policy affecting healthcare-related issues. Her 1993 attack on the Clinton healthcare plan was likely a major factor in the initially-popular bill's defeat in Congress. Also, it brought her to the attention of Republican Pataki, who chose her as his nominee/running mate. In 2009, her criticisms of the Affordable Care Act, then a bill being debated in Congress, again gained significant media attention in television and radio interviews, and it may have specifically inspired the "death panel" claim about the act.
She has been a fellow at the conservative Manhattan Institute and Hudson Institute thinktanks and has written numerous articles and op-eds. She was a member of the boards of directors of medical equipment companies Genta (from 2001 to 2007) and Cantel Medical Corporation, but she resigned in 2009 to avoid the appearance of conflict of interest, with her public advocacy against the Affordable Care Act.
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