Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), a member of House Freedom Caucus, was one of the American Health Care Act’s loudest critics before it eventually failed, tweeting the following about how he was planning to vote.
Sorry if I let you down. I'm changing my vote on #AHCA pic.twitter.com/JLUotqaO9L
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) March 22, 2017
He was just as blunt about the bill on Monday, telling "Fox and Friends" that the GOP leadership engaged in a lot of “R&D” during the drafting of AHCA – “ripoff and duplicate.” It was merely Obamacare lite, he argued.
President Trump, who had endorsed the GOP's bill, tweeted that the Freedom Caucus is partly responsible for "saving Obamacare and Planned Parenthood" for refusing to support the AHCA.
Massie did not return the favor. Instead, he gave the president a pass, noting he was the victim of bad advice.
.@RepThomasMassie: Pres. Trump's been given bad advice. He made a great case for AHCA but the problem is it's not the bill we campaigned on. pic.twitter.com/IJ8wjPHTgB
— FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) March 27, 2017
The representative also weighed in on where conservatives were willing to bend before the bill fizzled out. For instance, even though AHCA allowed states to expand Medicaid for two years, Massie said the caucus was “ready to vote for that.”
What they could not support was a bill that includes bailouts for insurance companies, offers what he calls corporate entitlements, and forces healthy people have to pay the same prices as unhealthy people.