Dem slams GOP with a ¯_(ツ)_/¯
Sen. Chris Murphy slammed Republicans on Thursday over a looming Supreme Court case, summing up their argument with a ¯_(ツ)_/¯.
The Connecticut Democrat might be the first lawmaker to ever use the “shruggie” online symbol on the Senate floor.
{mosads}Similar to an emoticon, the symbol uses characters from the katakana, a part of the Japanese writing system. It first gained popularity online after Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift’s MTV awards show acceptance speech.
Murphy used the symbol to suggest his disgust with GOP arguments about a response to a Supreme Court case that could leave millions without subsidies used to buy healthcare via ObamaCare exchanges.
The Supreme Court is considering whether to not allow people to get subsidies on the federal ObamaCare exchange in the King v. Burwell case.
“The Republican response to King v. Burwell is simply to repeal the Affordable Care Act,” Murphy said from the Senate floor. His speech included a sign that said “the Republican King v Burwell plan summarized: ¯_(ツ)_/¯ .”
The senator added that he was “frankly totally confident” that the Supreme Court would side with the government in the healthcare battle.
“There’s no other way to read the Affordable Care Act other than to believe that subsidies go to both state and federal exchanges,” he said.
Sen. John Barrasso fired back at Murphy after his speech, saying that President Obama has told him that “he had no plan” if the Supreme Court ruled against the government.
“[Murphy] said that the Republicans don’t have a plan,” the Wyoming Republican said. “Where’s the president’s plan? He’s the guy that made the mess.”
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