As result of disagreements regarding the House Freedom Caucus’ role in the failure of President Donald Trump’s healthcare plan, Republican Representative Ted Poe, on Sunday, March 26, resigned from the conservative group.
Texas GOP Rep. Ted Poe’s resignation comes after the right-wing caucus vehemently opposed the Republican healthcare proposal, for which he wanted to vote.
“I have resigned from the House Freedom Caucus,” Poe said in a statement. He suggested that his decision to leave the caucus would allow him to serve his constituents better.
“In order to deliver on the conservative agenda we have promised the American people for eight years, we must come together to find solutions to move this country forward. Saying no is easy, leading is hard, but that is what we were elected to do. Leaving this caucus will allow me to be a more effective Member of Congress and advocate for the people of Texas. It is time to lead,” he added.
A tweet by reporter Chad Pergram later confirmed that Poe had told Caucus chairman Rep. Mark Meadows about his departure from the group. While the Freedom Caucus is not known to keep an official list of its members, Poe was reportedly a recent addition.
The Freedom Caucus believes that the Republican proposal did not actually repeal the 2010 Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, in its true essence. Poe had different views and was in favor of the legislation.
The caucus argued that the Affordable Health Care Act (AHCA) did not go far enough to fulfill the Republicans’ promise of fully repealing and replacing ObamaCare. Despite late attempts from both, President Donald Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan, the bill failed to gain any support from the caucus; Meadows believes the bill simply does not do enough.
The Freedom Caucus consists of the House of Representatives’ most conservative members, which played a critical role in dealing the Trump administration a major political setback on Friday; when Republican House leaders had to pull off the healthcare legislation, one of Trump’s major campaign promises.
Trump showed his displeasure towards the Freedom Caucus and other conservatives in a tweet on Sunday morning, saying their actions resulted in “Democrats smiling in D.C.”
