Mischief in the Capitol as GOP rebels stir up trouble

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

The Capitol is suddenly awash with troublemakers and rebels – and that’s just the Republicans.

Whatever GOP unity was produced by Donald Trump’s victory in November has all but disappeared, and Republican leaders are confronting open rebellion in their ranks as they try to finalize health care legislation. Trump’s speech to a joint session of Congress this week was well-received, but did little to repair divisions.

In the Senate, a trio of conservatives that’s been a thorn in the side of leadership is back at it again. And in the House, recalcitrant conservatives are banding together and threatening to foil House Speaker Paul Ryan’s plans for swift passage of the legislation to repeal and replace former President Barack Obama’s health law.

“Currently there are not enough votes to pass it in the House,” Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina, head of an influential group of conservatives, declared in an interview Friday.

Meadows said leaders appeared to believe they could jam the bill through by twisting arms and getting Trump to make calls, but insisted such tactics wouldn’t work on him without substantial change to the bill. His opposition is such that his wife sent out an email urging opposition to the bill, as reported by Politico this week. “It will end up being Ryancare and the disaster will be wrapped around Republican’s necks,” Debbie Meadows wrote.

Rep. Meadows said Friday that his wife sent the email to a small group of friends and relatives in an effort to support him. “She was trying to help her husband, she is distraught that this is a distraction, and she probably is more distraught because she really respects and admires Paul Ryan,” Meadows said.

The lawmakers are criticizing the developing legislation as “Obamacare lite.” They object in particular to a system of refundable tax credits that form the centerpiece of the legislation, and which they say would amount to a costly new entitlement. Instead they’re demanding a vote on a straightforward repeal-only bill.

Ryan and other GOP leaders, who are aiming to pass the legislation through the House and Senate by early April, have tried to keep a game face despite the turmoil.

“I am perfectly confident that when it’s all said and done, we’re going to unify, because we all, every Republican, ran on repealing and replacing, and we’re going to keep our promises,” Ryan told reporters Thursday.