House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday invoked the late-Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) dramatic and decisive vote to sink the Republicans’ 2017 effort to repeal ObamaCare during President Trump’s first term — as Jeffries argued against the GOP megabill.
“What type of party would bring a bill to the House floor that rips away Medicaid from those in need? What kind of party would bring a bill to the House floor that literally robs food from the mouths of children, veterans and seniors? And all of this is being done to provide massive tax breaks to their billionaire donors. It’s unconscionable; it’s unacceptable; it’s un-American,” Jeffries said.
“All we need are four Republicans — just four — to show John-McCain-level courage.”
As the minority party in the House, Democrats are powerless to block Trump’s domestic agenda if GOP leaders can rally the votes to pass it.
But that’s not stopping them from making the vote as uncomfortable as possible for on-the-fence Republicans, especially those facing tough reelection in battleground districts.
As part of that public messaging campaign, scores of House Democrats took to the steps of the Capitol Wednesday morning to highlight the most controversial elements of the Republican legislation, including steep cuts to low-income health and nutrition programs.
Jeffries and other Democrats called out several Republican lawmakers by name, including Reps. Scott Perry (Pa.), Rob Bresnahan (Pa.), David Valadao (Calif.) and Young Kim (Calif.). All of them are facing tough reelection contests next year.
The display comes as Republican leaders are scrambling to lock down enough votes to advance the measure on the floor. A procedural vote is scheduled early Wednesday afternoon, but several hard-line conservatives are threatening to block the measure.
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