Politics

Congressman Trolls President Trump Over Health Care Bill

March 22nd 2017

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) announced in a tweet Wednesday that he was changing his vote on President Donald Trump's health care bill – from "no" to "hell no."

Massie is one of the 24 House Republicans who plan to oppose the president's American Health Care Act (AHCA) when the chamber votes on Thursday, according to The Hill. If 21 Republicans join all 193 House Democrats in voting no, the bill will fail.

The pronouncement comes two days after Trump held a rally in Louisville, Kentucky, delivering a speech that focused on repealing and replacing former President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act (ACA). In the speech, Trump said passing the replacement plan would involve some compromise, but it was essential to achieving his economic agenda.

trumpAP/Michael Reynolds - apimages.com

"As soon we get the health care finished, I’m looking forward to these trade deals," Trump said on Monday. "We’re going to do something with NAFTA you’re going to be very impressed with."

Privately, though, Trump reportedly warned of repercussions for Republican who dissent from his health care agenda, ABC News reported.

Massie isn't budging, though. He said hundreds of his constituents have called his office imploring him to oppose the bill. He's also complained that the AHCA is designed to serve the interests of the health insurance lobby, rather than conservative voters, according to The Washington Examiner.

In spite of Trump's efforts to convince Republican lawmakers to support his bill, analysts predict that the ACHA, at least in its current form, is unlikely to prevail in the House. Axios' Caitlin Owens and Bob Herman said that Republican leaders they spoke to didn't see a "downside to the vote" against the AHCA, however.

"They insist they're on a rescue mission to save the Affordable Care Act marketplaces from collapse (even though independent analysts don't think the infamous premium hikes this year would have been repeated)," Axios reported.

Opposition to the AHCA has taken different forms among Republicans. Some, including Massie and members of the Freedom Caucus, feel the bill is a watered down version of the ACA that doesn't go far enough in terms of getting the government out of health care. But more moderate Republicans have taken issue with the gradual elimination of Medicaid coverage for the country's poorest residents.

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