SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
White House Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders expressed anger Tuesday at senators who didn't back the Republican effort to repeal Obamacare. (Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty)
Trump White House Ridiculously Blames Democrats for Republicans' Repeal Failure
In closed press briefing, deputy press secretary condemns Democrats for defending their own law from repeal effort
Jul 18, 2017
At the latest off-camera press briefing Tuesday, Deputy White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders made clear the official White House position on who is to blame for the Republican failure to repeal the Affordable Care Act: the Democrats.
Two proposals for a plan that would replace the law with new legislation failed over the two weeks, and a third plan to repeal the law without replacing it floundered Tuesday after three senators announced they would not support it.
In the briefing, Sanders said Democrats have been "unwilling to work with Republicans in any capacity to help fix" the ACA.
\u201cdeputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders blames Democrats for "the mess that we\u2019re in." https://t.co/AH1WRVDaX4\u201d— Meg Wagner (@Meg Wagner) 1500405847
Although 13 Republicans wrote the bill behind closed doors, and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said the effort to repeal Obamacare would "have to be a Republicans-only exercise," Sanders claimed that Democrats have "been the ones that have been completely unwilling to even come to the table to be part of the discussion."
She also noted that since Democrats are responsible for passing the ACA in 2010, "they are responsible for the mess we're in."
While Americans on both sides of the aisle have acknowledged improvements that could be made to the ACA, the National Center for Health Statistics has found that since the law passed, nearly 20 million Americans who were previously uninsured have been able to purchase health insurance through state marketplaces. The law has also become more popular in recent months as Republicans have threatened to repeal it.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
At the latest off-camera press briefing Tuesday, Deputy White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders made clear the official White House position on who is to blame for the Republican failure to repeal the Affordable Care Act: the Democrats.
Two proposals for a plan that would replace the law with new legislation failed over the two weeks, and a third plan to repeal the law without replacing it floundered Tuesday after three senators announced they would not support it.
In the briefing, Sanders said Democrats have been "unwilling to work with Republicans in any capacity to help fix" the ACA.
\u201cdeputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders blames Democrats for "the mess that we\u2019re in." https://t.co/AH1WRVDaX4\u201d— Meg Wagner (@Meg Wagner) 1500405847
Although 13 Republicans wrote the bill behind closed doors, and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said the effort to repeal Obamacare would "have to be a Republicans-only exercise," Sanders claimed that Democrats have "been the ones that have been completely unwilling to even come to the table to be part of the discussion."
She also noted that since Democrats are responsible for passing the ACA in 2010, "they are responsible for the mess we're in."
While Americans on both sides of the aisle have acknowledged improvements that could be made to the ACA, the National Center for Health Statistics has found that since the law passed, nearly 20 million Americans who were previously uninsured have been able to purchase health insurance through state marketplaces. The law has also become more popular in recent months as Republicans have threatened to repeal it.
At the latest off-camera press briefing Tuesday, Deputy White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders made clear the official White House position on who is to blame for the Republican failure to repeal the Affordable Care Act: the Democrats.
Two proposals for a plan that would replace the law with new legislation failed over the two weeks, and a third plan to repeal the law without replacing it floundered Tuesday after three senators announced they would not support it.
In the briefing, Sanders said Democrats have been "unwilling to work with Republicans in any capacity to help fix" the ACA.
\u201cdeputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders blames Democrats for "the mess that we\u2019re in." https://t.co/AH1WRVDaX4\u201d— Meg Wagner (@Meg Wagner) 1500405847
Although 13 Republicans wrote the bill behind closed doors, and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said the effort to repeal Obamacare would "have to be a Republicans-only exercise," Sanders claimed that Democrats have "been the ones that have been completely unwilling to even come to the table to be part of the discussion."
She also noted that since Democrats are responsible for passing the ACA in 2010, "they are responsible for the mess we're in."
While Americans on both sides of the aisle have acknowledged improvements that could be made to the ACA, the National Center for Health Statistics has found that since the law passed, nearly 20 million Americans who were previously uninsured have been able to purchase health insurance through state marketplaces. The law has also become more popular in recent months as Republicans have threatened to repeal it.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.