WASHINGTON, D.C. — Following the failure of the American Health Care Act supported by House GOP leadership and the White House, the president and establishment Republicans have begun to cast blame on the conservative Freedom Caucus. But members of the group, including Alabama Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL5), are standing by their decision to oppose the AHCA and keep their promise to fully repeal ObamaCare.
The Freedom Caucus will hurt the entire Republican agenda if they don't get on the team, & fast. We must fight them, & Dems, in 2018!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 30, 2017
“Trump’s tweets reaffirm that the Freedom Caucus is having a major impact on public policy in Congress — that the Freedom Caucus is not a force to be ignored,” Brooks told The Daily Signal. “This Twitterverse is the new Washington. I have zero worries about it. If you want me to vote for a piece of legislation, either persuade me it is good for America or change it so that it is good for America.”
Brooks had been critical of the GOP health care plan from the beginning, and he attacked it for failing to fully repeal the Affordable Care Act. “I’ll vote NO on [American Healthcare Act] b/c it doesn’t deliver on the promise I made to #AL05 to fully repeal ObamaCare,” Brooks tweeted.
RELATED: Alabama congressman files bill to fully repeal ObamaCare
Last week, he filed his own bill that focused solely on complete repeal. The bill is only two pages long and would eliminate every part of the ACA “and the provisions of law amended or repealed by such Act are restored or revived as if such Act had not been enacted.”
Other prominent House conservatives, such as Reps Justin Amash (R-Mich.), Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), and Mark Sanford (R-S.C.), vocally attacked the AHCA, dubbing it “SwampCare.” President Trump has expressed interest in moving on from healthcare, but members of Congress have pushed back on that idea.
