Press Staff Blog

Today’s Republican quote of the day is brought to you by Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, who said his constituents are “freaking out” about losing their health coverage. His constituents – and millions of Americans – have every right to be after Republicans voted to begin the process to repeal the ACA without having a replacement. From Bloomberg:

Last night, Speaker Ryan joined CNN for a town hall. Right off the bat, the Speaker was confronted by one of the millions of Americans who is benefiting from the Affordable Care Act:

Jeff Jeans, self-proclaimed lifelong Republican and small business owner: “Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, I’m standing here today alive. I rely on the Affordable Care Act to be able to purchase my own insurance. Why would you repeal the Affordable Care Act without a replacement?"

There have been a lot of surprises over the past few months, but here’s something we didn’t think we’d see: A tweet that Republicans may not have the votes for their number one priority – a repeal of the Affordable Care Act.

Republican leaders are moving full steam ahead on their efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, despite discontent among rank-and-file Members. To help you keep track, we released a handy document of House and Senate Republicans who oppose their leadership’s plan repeal the ACA without a replacement. Today, you can add House Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions and Rep. Charlie Dent to the list of those who think this is a bad idea.

Wanted to make sure you’re all watching the PQ vote right now.  If it fails, Democrats will bring up legislation to form an independent commission to investigate Russia’s hacking of the election. This vote will show the American people whether or not Republicans are willing to stand up for American democracy and work to uncover the full scope of Russia’s interference. Defending our government institutions should not be a partisan issue – we’ll see if Republicans agree.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s op-ed today misrepresents the facts about the Affordable Care Act in order to justify GOP efforts to repeal the ACA without a replacement and Make America Sick Again. It’s a busy week, so we here in the Democratic Whip’s press shop put together a handy guide to help distinguish between Senator McConnell’s rhetoric and the reality:

We think it’s time for someone to break it to Republicans: the American people don’t support your plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act without offering a replacement plan. From the Washington Post:

Once again, Republicans are falling short on their promises to support job creation. Not only will their effort to repeal the ACA without a replacement #MakeAmericaSickAgain, but a new report shows that it will also cost millions of jobs.

From CNBC:

“Up to 3 million jobs in the health sector and other areas would be lost if certain key provisions of the Affordable Care Act are repealed by Congress.”