The House Freedom Caucus came to Congress to do two things: chew bubblegum and obstruct legislation handed down from the speaker’s office. And they’ve been out of bubblegum since before Donald Trump became a candidate for president.
Right after Republican leadership released the text of the Obamacare repeal package late Monday evening, several members of the cantankerous conservative group reiterated to the Washington Examiner that nothing has changed.
Any hopes that President Trump could succeed where Speaker Ryan has failed were quickly shattered. “It doesn’t matter who comes to us and asks us to go along with this devastating program,” Rep. Dave Brat, R-Va., said while scanning the bill during a phone interview. “The answer will be no.”
The legislation in question represents the farthest step the Republican-controlled government has taken toward delivering on their six-year-old promise to repeal and replace Obamacare. Dubbed the American Healthcare Act, the plan would replace the individual insurance mandate, which requires individuals to purchase coverage, with a system of refundable tax credits. In addition, it would likely phase out the Medicaid expansion over the course of several years. And it would also keep Planned Parenthood from receiving any taxpayer funds.
But that’s not enough for the roughly 40 members of the Freedom Caucus. “I don’t see much difference between this and that plan they leaked earlier,” Former House Freedom Caucus Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, told the Washington Examiner, referring to a proposal that surfaced two weeks ago.
“We didn’t tell the voters we are going to repeal Obamacare but keep some of the taxes,” Jordan says, getting more and more excited. “We didn’t tell them we’d repeal Obamacare but we are going to start a new entitlement. We didn’t tell them we’d repeal Obamacare but keep the Medicaid expansion.”
The incredulous conservative said he couldn’t understand how Republicans could send a thorough repeal bill to President Obama’s desk in 2015, only to offer a watered-down version to Trump in 2017. So far, though, the White House hasn’t tipped its hand one way or the other. In a tweet, President Trump shared a link to a Ryan press release and noted simply that “it’s time to end this nightmare.”
Born from a cannonball, the Freedom Caucus has been a regular thorn in the side of GOP leadership. First they axed former House Speaker John Boehner. Then they helped scuttle Ryan’s hopes of a regular appropriations process last year. And now, even though there’s a Republican in the White House, the members don’t appear any less cantankerous.
Still, a Freedom Caucus aid held out hope for compromise. “While the bill is an improvement,” the staffer told the Washington Examiner, “there are still serious concerns, particularly with the advance refundable tax credits.”
Philip Wegmann is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
