Earlier this month, Washington Congressman Dave Reichert (R-Auburn) voted to advance the Republican Trumpcare bill through committee and toward a full House vote.
Now, amid 11th hour negotiations and changes to the bill, Reichert isn't so sure.
The Seattle Times' Jim Brunner has the news:
Breanna Deutsch, a Reichert spokeswoman, said in an email the bill has changed since that committee vote.
âThere are likely more changes to be made. Until we know what those changes are, Congressman Reichert is undecided,â she said.
(We've reached out to Reichert's office, too, and we'll update this post if they get back to us about this or about anything ever.)
Reichert not only voted for Trumpcare once, but continued to defend it after a Congressional Budget Office report estimated it would result in 24 million people losing coverage. Meanwhile, Reichert's constituents have supported the Democratic candidate for president in at least the last three presidential elections, and about 48,500 people in his district stand to lose coverage if Medicaid expansion is rolled back.
If you'd like to help Reichert make up his mind, you can reach his office at 202-225-7761.
Reichert Watch: Every time Reichert takes a party line vote that hurts his constituents or introduces needless legislation or does anything at all, we'll add it to the list.
⢠On March 9, he voted for the GOP plan to repeal and replace Obamacare.
⢠A week later, after a Congressional Budget Office analysis found the plan could leave 24 million people across the country without insurance by 2026, he defended it.
⢠Before that, Reichert made misleading statements about threats posed by his own constituents.
⢠Recently, he voted for the SCRUB act, which creates a regulatory committee to identify and eliminate regulations that donât directly increase the GDP. The committeeâs goals align with White House chief strategist Stephen Bannonâs plan to âdeconstruct the administrative state," but the irony of commissioning a regulatory agency to cut back on regulations is lost on no one, especially not tax payers who are being charged $30 million for the favor.
⢠Reichert twice voted against forcing Trump to show Congress his tax returns (once in committee and once in a roll call vote), which may illuminate conflicts of interest and business ties with Russia.
⢠Reichert was the only Washington Republican who voted to gut the Office of Congressional Ethics.
⢠In 2014, he proposed a bill that would ban welfare recipients from using benefits to buy weed, despite the fact that such purchases were already illegal.
⢠In 2010, he voted to maintain âDonât Ask Donât Tell."
⢠That same year, Reichert suffered significant brain trauma when a tree branch fell on his head. The resulting hand-sized blood clot that formed in his brain went untreated for two months.
⢠In their 2006