After serving three years in the House of Representatives, Roger Marshall, Republican, started his term in the U.S. Senate in January 2021, days before the attack on the nation’s Capitol. With four years left in his first term, he said he is looking to do more for Kansas.

In a visit to Wichita on Oct. 31, Marshall met with community members at the Rockwell Branch of the Wichita Public Library to get feedback and answer questions about problems in today’s government.

Coming from a farming family, he has been on agriculture committees in both the House and Senate. According to Marshall, helping smaller, rural communities has always been a focus for him. He is known for working with former President Donald Trump in some of these areas.

“The bigger picture though is things like inflation and taxes,” Marshall said. “The price of gasoline and groceries impact people on the edges more than anybody.”

As a medical doctor, Marshall said health and education are two of his biggest focus areas. He said that he has always been firm on his standing with COVID-19 vaccine requirements. 

“I never have changed my position on the vaccine since day one,” Marshall said. “I have always said it should be a decision between you and the doctor.”

In early September, Marshall co-sponsored a bill that would prohibit the funding to require public schools in D.C. to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. This bill, introduced by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, has not yet passed House legislation and is currently residing in committee. 

After the Supreme Court ruling that took away federal protection of abortion rights, Marshall, an OBGYN, stuck with his pro-life stance. 

“I believe that life begins at conception,” Marshall said. “I have spent my entire professional life protecting the life and well-being of moms and babies, and I’m going to keep doing that.”

“The Protecting Life in a Crisis Act” was the first piece of legislation the senator introduced to Congress, preventing any funding meant for COVID-19 relief to be used towards abortions.

More recently he co-sponsored the “Protecting Pain-Capable Unborn Children from Late-Term Abortions Act,” which would make having an abortion after the fetus is 15 weeks old a criminal offense. However this bill would not prevent abortions in cases of rape, incest, or life-threatening conditions for the birth giver. 

While Marshall said he did not agree with the riot events on Jan. 6, 2021, he was among the senators who voted against the electoral college counts in states with suspected election fraud in the 2020 presidential election. Later, he said that the country needs to move on. 

Pennsylvania was among the states suspected of election fraud, though there was no evidence of such fraud. Marshall denies that Kansas has had any issues with election fraud and says the voting system is safe.

“I don’t want a U.S. Senator from Kansas to tell Pennsylvania how to do their elections,” Marshall said.

In late March, Marshall, along with a group of bipartisan senators, traveled to Germany to gain a better understanding on the war in Ukraine. After the trip, Marshall was pushing for weapons to be sent to help fight Russia.

After voting for the first round of funding to Ukraine, Marshall has voted against the last two. 

“I supported it at the beginning, thinking that the European Union and other countries would do their share,” Marshall said. “Europe is standing there laughing at us, letting us pay for it all.”

With the gap constantly widening between political parties, Marshall said that he is confident that common ground and bipartisan legislation can be achieved. 

“The people of Kansas sent me to D.C. to fight for them,” Marshall said. “And that’s what I’m going to do.”

This story was published and later taken down. This page reflects the newest version of the story.