President Donald Trump delivers his first address to a joint session of Congress from the floor of the House of Representatives in Washington, February 28, 2017. (Courtesy: Jim Lo Scalzo/Pool/Reuters)
(Phillip Stucky, The Daily Caller News Foundation) – President Donald Trump said Republicans must fight the House Freedom Caucus in 2018 early Thursday, saying the group of conservative Republicans who derailed the Obamacare replacement bill better “get on the team,” and “fast.”
“The Freedom Caucus will hurt the entire Republican agenda if they don’t get on the team, and fast,” Trump tweeted. “We must fight them, and Dems, in 2018.”
The Freedom Caucus will hurt the entire Republican agenda if they don’t get on the team, & fast. We must fight them, & Dems, in 2018!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 30, 2017
Trump met with Republican lawmakers last week, and told HFC Chair Rep. Mark Meadows he would “come after” him if did not get behind the measure. But Meadows and several other members of the caucus asserted they would not vote for the bill, forcing Speaker of the House Paul Ryan to cancel the scheduled vote last Friday.
“Mark, I’m gonna come after you,” Trump said in the meeting, before going on to say, “I honestly think that many of you will lose your seats in 2018 if you don’t get this done.”
Some residents of Meadows’ district, however, are very happy that he opposed what they view as a poor health care plan.
“I respect him for staying true to his principles,” local resident Jerry Moore told Politico. “Trump promised repeal. That was no repeal.”
Content originally published at The Daily Caller.
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
