Newt Gingrich now wants to abolish the 'corrupt' and 'disgusting' CBO
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office quickly soured in the eyes of Republicans on Monday after the release of its report on the GOP's proposed replacement for ObamaCare, the American Health Care Act. Newt Gingrich led the charge on Fox News, claiming "they should abolish the Congressional Budget Office. It is corrupt. It is dishonest. I don't trust a single word they have published. And I don't believe them."
Fox’s Martha MacCallum pointed out that the head of the CBO is a Trump appointee. "I couldn't care less," Gingrich shot back. He added that the CBO's analysis was "disgusting."
The CBO found that the AHCA would result in 24 million more Americans going uninsured; by 2026, the CBO estimates that 52 million people would lack insurance under the GOP plan, compared to 28 million who would go uninsured under ObamaCare. Internal White House estimates were reportedly even bleaker. But while President Trump has praised the CBO in the past, Gingrich has been consistent, claiming before the inauguration that the CBO is "incompatible with the Trump era.”
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Other Republicans also slammed the CBO, with HHS secretary Tom Price calling the report "just not believable" and Jeffrey Lord explaining on CNN, "We don't know what the weather is going to be. It's going to snow, but how much? We don't know. We don't trust weathermen. So why should we trust the CBO?"
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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