WASHINGTON — Weeks after Rep. Keith Ellison told CNN that he and Democrats were waiting and willing to work with President Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans, he has changed his tone.
On Tuesday morning, Ellison shared a Huffington Post article detailing a revived version of the House GOP health care bill and wrote, “The White House is negotiating a new deal with Republicans to replace Obamacare – and it is even worse than before. Who’s ready to #resist?”
As reported by Alpha News, Ellison sat down with CNN’s Chris Cuomo to talk about the American Health Care Act (AHCA). Ellison told Cuomo, “If the Republicans have suddenly realized they have to work with us, I think that’s a good thing.”
Ellison who spoke about the troubles Minnesotans have faced in terms of rising healthcare costs, said, “We stand at the ready to make things better. Private market, anywhere else, and on any other issue.”
So far, there is no new healthcare bill being debated. The White House has been meeting with key lawmakers to revive and fix the bill that was pulled from the House before it could be voted on.
As Alpha News reported, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan had put the bill on the floor for a vote, but when members of the Freedom Caucus refused to stand in solidarity with their fellow Republicans, the bill was pulled.
Trump has been working on a deal to revive the bill. Over the weekend, the President invited Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) to play a round of golf with him and discuss the healthcare bill. Paul seemed optimistic in the creation of a new healthcare deal.
I had a great time today with @realDonaldTrump and believe we are getting closer to an agreement on health care!
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) April 2, 2017
Though there is not a given time table for a revised version of the healthcare plan, Ellison’s question of resisting hints at pushback from Democrats.
Preya Samsundar
Preya Samsundar was born and raised in Minneapolis, MN. She graduated from the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities this Spring with a B.A. in Political Science and Sociology, with a minor in Strategic Communications. Preya has previously worked on several State Campaign Races.
