House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows’s (R-N.C.) wife slammed Speaker Ryan’s nascent ObamaCare replacement plans, a draft of which leaked last week, in an email to supporters.
“In a nutshell, for reasons we cannot fathom, Republican leadership is putting forth a so-called Obamacare ‘repeal’ that is not a repeal at all,” Debbie Meadows said in an email to North Carolina Republicans, Politico reported Tuesday.
“Leadership is selling it as a full repeal and has convinced many in the White House that it’s terrific,” she added. “[But it] will actually create a huge new government entitlement program and cost even more than Obamacare.”
{mosads}“It will end up being Ryancare and the disaster will be wrapped around Republicans’ necks. We MUST let them know that we are not stupid and that we absolutely won’t put up with this charade.”
Debbie Meadows additionally listed two phone numbers for Ryan’s office in the email, Politico said, which was first circulated Monday afternoon.
“Please call both numbers [and] sound the alarm,” she wrote. “SAY: We do NOT want the REPEAL PLUS (what they’ve named their awful scheme).”
“We want the 2015 REPEAL THAT YOU PUT ON OBAMA’s DESK,” she added, referencing a tougher repeal bill that President Obama vetoed. “Now we have a President who will sign it.
“NO excuses that you can’t get it through the Senate. They will deny that this is true, but stick to your point. I promise you this is true.”
An aide to Mark Meadows told Politico Tuesday that Debbie Meadows sent the message to about 15 people without her husband’s knowledge.
Her message concludes with a plea to readers “NOT [TO] SAY THAT I OR MARK TOLD YOU TO CALL” in parentheses.
President Trump has made repealing and replacing ObamaCare an early focus of his administration and is putting the pressure on Republicans to unite around a plan. But conservatives in the House are already voicing opposition to the draft bill that circulated last week, signaling a tough road ahead.
Mark Meadows said Monday he would oppose any replacement bill including refundable tax credits, suggesting other conservatives on the House Freedom Caucus may follow suit.
“What is conservative about a new entitlement program and a new tax increase?” he asked CNN. “And should that be the first thing that the president signs of significance that we sent to the new president?”
Republican Study Committee Chairman Rep. Mark Walker (R-N.C.) also said he would vote against a plan that includes refundable tax credits.