Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX) announced on Sunday that he would resign from the House Freedom Caucus after the bloc of conservative members refused to back Republican leaders’ plan to repeal and replace Obamacare.
“In order to deliver on the conservative agenda we have promised the American people for eight years, we must come together to find solutions to move this country forward,” Poe said in a statement. “Saying no is easy, leading is hard, but that is what we were elected to do. Leaving this caucus will allow me to be a more effective member of Congress and advocate for the people of Texas. It is time to lead.”
Republicans pulled the House bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act on Friday when it was clear that the legislation did not have enough votes to pass. The Freedom Caucus’ opposition to the bill helped ensure its failure, though some moderates in the House also declined to back the bill.
In a Sunday tweet, President Donald Trump placed some blame for the effort’s failure on the Freedom Caucus, saying that the group “saved” Obamcare and funding for Planned Parenthood.
In an interview on CNN Monday morning, Poe criticized the Freedom Caucus’ approach to the House bill to repeal and replace Obamacare. He said that while the caucus started as a force opposing Democrats, it’s now an “opposition caucus against anything in the Republican Party.”
He said that Republican leaders tried to compromise with the Freedom Caucus on the American Health Care Act.
“At the end of the day, no, it was easier to vote no. And so I’m angry about that,” Poe told CNN.
“I got the opinion that there’s some members of the Freedom Caucus, they’d vote no against the Ten Commandments if it came up for a vote,” he added later.
Rep. @JudgeTedPoe, who quit the Freedom Caucus, says its members would “vote no on the 10 commandments” https://t.co/ozTDty7eOh
— New Day (@NewDay) March 27, 2017
This post has been updated.
What’s more pathetic. Resigning from a stupid ‘caucus’ that stands for nothing but goodies for the wealthy or joining it in the first place?
And, the fact you backed that stupid bill shows you don’t have the grey matter to lead anything.
I see his second district in Texas cracked 60% for Republicans in the last four presidential elections,. He looks like a malevolent S.O.B.; Houston can keep him!
Baby steps. First you throw tantrums, then mommy shows you there’s nothing to be gained by such behavior, then mommy asks you to model good behavior for your siblings, then you start learning to lead. Here’s an idea, how about Republicans elect people who completed the standard child developmental stages prior to running?
just a weak attempt to say “dont blame me”.
this so called freedom caucus would make the Nazi SS blush.
interesting to me would be knowing what % of them rely on the cock brothers for their marching orders because it appears the lines are being drawn between their puppets and the mercer puppets.
and…not that it concerns me but remember bannon and pence and kellyanne also now the son in law…are all mercer people…who are in hand to hand combat with the priebus people about who is not protecting the head puppets image enough as they argue who is “leaking” all the negative stuff.
would make a good spy novel…since an incompetent clueless guy could easily be manipulated to undermine himself by a rouge staff…who had that as their intention all along.
Mental giant.
Leaves a group that had both suppporters and opponents of the bill, so that he would have the flexibility to be a supporter of the bill, because it was just too darn important to pass a bill that would have crashed and burned in the Senate.