Tierney Sneed contributed reporting.
Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus are making it clear not only that they’re unhappy with the bill Republican leaders unveiled this week to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, but that it doesn’t have enough support to pass the House in its current iteration.
“Right now the Speaker of the House does not have the votes to pass this bill unless he’s got substantial Democratic support,” Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) told reporters after the caucus’ Tuesday night meeting with Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, according to The Hill.
Rep. Raul Labrador (R-ID) suggested that there were not many tweaks that could make the bill palatable.
“I don’t think there is any tinkering that will get us to 218” votes, he said, according to CNN.
Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC), chair of the House Freedom Caucus, reiterated to TPM on Wednesday morning that House leadership does not currently have the support of his caucus and may not garner enough votes, period.
“We believe that there’s still serious concerns with the House GOP plan. It’s just Obamacare in a different form,” he told TPM. “And until we can make substantial changes to it or replace it with another plan—obviously we have our preferred plan and Dr. Rand Paul’s—it’s hard to see there being 218 members that would support that.”
Meadows cautioned that the caucus had not yet taken an official position on the legislation and told TPM that the caucus was “trying to negotiate in good faith.” To that end, he said two or three Freedom Caucus members were lined up to work on amendments to the bill.
Earlier Tuesday, amid an uproar from conservatives opposed to reworked tax credits in the House bill, Vice President Mike Pence had declared that “this is the bill” that would move health care reform forward while noting there was room for improvement.
Meadows told TPM that Mulvaney indicated there was room for negotiation on the replacement plan, too.
“He said this is a work in progress, and the President is open to any good ideas that certainly can make sure that we make health care affordable and accessible,” Meadows said.
Other members of the caucus told reporters a similar story Tuesday night.
“When the administration has spoken to our members in private meetings, the discussions have been more about finding ways to move forward together and not about take it or leave it,” Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI) said, per CNN.
Brooks suggested that the White House had a “mixed message” about the bill, suggesting that the administration is not married to passing the legislation as is, according to the Huffington Post. Labrador echoed that sentiment.
“What I have heard from the President, from the Vice President, from the director tonight, is that they’re open to negotiation,” he said, per the Huffington Post. “So I find it a little bit intriguing when I hear our leadership say that they have a bill, a set bill, and the President is fully supportive of the bill. I think he is fully supportive of the process.”
