Issa: ObamaCare repeal position ‘none of your business’
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) refused to share his position on the House GOP’s revised healthcare bill in a tense exchange on Tuesday.
As Issa waited for an elevator to leave the House floor, reporters asked Issa what his position is on the GOP’s latest healthcare proposal.
“None of your business,” Issa replied tersely.
“None of our business? What about your constituents? Don’t they deserve to know how you’re going to vote on this?” a reporter for The Hill asked.
{mosads}“You’re not a constituent,” Issa shot back as he entered an elevator with other lawmakers.
A short time later, Issa clarified his position to a reporter for a San Diego ABC affiliate who followed up after seeing a description of the exchange from The Hill.
“Perhaps San Diego based reporters will have better luck. Congressman @DarrellIssa, what is your position on the revised health care bill?”
The congressman responded to the local news query, saying he is “undecided and still reviewing the changes to the bill.”
@10NewsCoronel Undecided and still reviewing the changes to the bill.
— Darrell Issa (@DarrellIssa) May 2, 2017
Issa, a former House Oversight Committee chairman, is expected to be one of the most vulnerable House Republicans in 2018 after he narrowly won reelection last year in a district carried by Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
House GOP leaders are trying to revive their legislation to repeal and replace ObamaCare after failing to bring it up for a vote in March.
The latest version features an amendment from centrist Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.) and conservative House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) that allows states to apply for waivers to two ObamaCare provisions.
Those provisions prevent insurers from charging sick people higher premiums than those in their community and mandate minimum insurance coverage requirements.
The amendment won support from most of the Freedom Caucus, giving GOP leaders much-needed momentum. But it’s drawing skepticism from centrists.
The Hill’s whip list showed on Tuesday at least 22 Republicans planned to vote against it. That’s the maximum number of defections GOP leaders can afford.
More public statements of opposition could come from the dozens of Republicans who remain undecided or who, like Issa, who remain undecided.
Updated 6:40 p.m.
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