GOP congressman says no room for compromise in repealing Obamacare

Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio founded the House Freedom Caucus.

ByABC News
February 26, 2017, 2:32 PM

— -- The founder of the conservative House Freedom Caucus said the Republican Party cannot compromise on its promise to fully repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act known as Obamacare.

"We didn't tell the American people we're going to repeal it -- except we're going to keep the Medicaid expansion," Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan told ABC News chief anchor George Stephanopoulos on "This Week" Sunday.

"We didn't tell the American people we're going to repeal it -- except we're going to keep some of the tax increases that some are talking about. We told them we were going to repeal it and replace it with a market-centered, patient-centered plan that actually brings back affordable health insurance," Jordan said.

Stephanopoulos asked Jordan to respond to Republican Gov. John Kasich of Ohio, Jordan's home state, who appeared Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation" and said, "I think there are some very conservative Republicans in the House who are going to say just get rid of the whole thing. And, you know, that's not acceptable when you have 20 million people, or 700,000 people in my state. Because where do the mentally ill go? Where do the drug-addicted go?"

"Sounds like he's talking about you. What's your answer to your governor?" Stephanopoulos asked Jordan.

"Remember what the American people were sold," Jordan said. "They were sold a bill of goods on this thing. I tell people, they were sold a Caribbean cruise and they got the Titanic."

Obamacare has "all these mandates, all these regulations," he continued. "If [people] don't buy it, they're going to get penalized ... That's what Americans are living under now."

Jordan said the GOP-led Congress should "put on President Trump's desk the exact same plan we put on President Obama's desk just a year and a half ago."

"And you're confident you have the votes for that?" Stephanopoulos asked.

"We better have the votes for that because that's what we told the people, and I'm confident President Trump wants to do that," Jordan said.

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