Congressman Steve Knight (R-Palmdale) recently said he had no regrets about his health care vote to take away protections for people with pre-existing conditions.

The position is at odds with nearly 9 in 10 Americans, who support the current law enshrined in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to ensure individuals with pre-existing conditions cannot be denied health insurance, nor be charged more for coverage.

Knight has made his antipathy to the ACA abundantly clear, and has repeatedly voted to weaken or repeal the law. In fact, Knight enthusiastically voted for a Republican health care repeal law that would have caused people with pre-existing conditions to pay thousands of dollars more for health care.

Yet less than 48 hours before the House of Representatives gaveled out of session until after the midterm elections, and mere weeks before voters head to the polls, Knight hurried to introduce a bill on the issue of pre-existing conditions.

Despite his numerous votes to the contrary, it appears Knight suddenly believes “we should keep in place the insurance protections that patients with any and all health conditions have relied on for the past several years.”

Knight’s brand new position is diametrically opposed to both his votes in Congress and his own statements on those votes.

As recently as July, Knight was asked if he had any regrets about his vote to repeal the ACA and install the Republican health care replacement. At the time, Knight adamantly declared that he had no regrets whatsoever.

According to Politifact, the bill Knight voted for would have allowed insurance companies “to charge people significantly more if they had a pre-existing condition like heart disease, cancer, diabetes or arthritis — possibly requiring people to pay thousands of dollars extra every year to remain insured.”

Democrats nationwide made health care a centerpiece of the midterm elections, and half of Democratic ads in the midterms are related to health care. Katie Hill, running against Knight, brought up the issue at both congressional debates, and at the eleventh hour, Knight all of a sudden has a change of heart on the issue.

In 2017, Knight was given a clear chance to either support protections for people with pre-existing conditions or vote against those protections.

Knight voted against those protections, and has yet to express any regret about it.