CNN political correspondent MJ Lee said Monday that Sen. Elizabeth Warren's (D., Mass.) repeated dodging of questions about tax increases under her Medicare for All plan has become "politically untenable."
"We saw her, time and time again, avoid answering that particular question and pivoting instead to the question of total cost," Lee told CNN host John King. "She said over and over again that total costs will go down for the average American under Medicare for All. But I think we saw that politically this sort of tactic became politically untenable."
"This is a candidate, as we've talked about a lot on your show, who has a plan for really everything, except for the issue of health care," Lee added.
Lee previewed Warren's upcoming release of a plan that will attempt to address concerns about how the Massachusetts senator will fund Medicare for All. The program is projected to cost $34 trillion over 10 years.
Over the past week, Warren has taken fire for refusing to say whether middle-class taxes will go up under her health care plan. The most recent Democratic debate saw a number of broadsides from Warren's Democratic opponents, several of whom accused Warren of being dishonest.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D., Minn.) compared Warren to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.), whose Medicare for All bill Warren currently cosponsors. Klobuchar commended Sanders for being honest about the fact that middle-class Americans will pay more in taxes under his plan. Sanders has argued that to offset this increase, health care costs will decrease.
Former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke also described Warren's wealth tax as "punitive."
"I will not sign a bill into law that does not reduce the cost of health care for middle-class families," Warren said in response to questions about taxes increasing.