GOP congressman says health-care proposal is the most 'universally detested piece of legislation' he's ever seen

GOP Congressman Justin Amash.
(Image credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

The House is planning to vote Thursday on the Republican proposal to replace ObamaCare, known as the American Health Care Act. The bill — drafted mostly by House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) — has faced criticism from both sides of the aisle, as some Republicans object to its keeping certain provisions of former President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act, while Democrats have pointed to the millions of Americans who would lose insurance.

President Trump has declared his support for the American Health Care Act, and The Washington Post reported last week that Trump was "relishing a role as a high-stakes 'closer'" in the negotiations over the bill. Trump has asked several members of the House directly to support the bill, the Post reported, and Ryan said earlier this month he was confident Republicans would produce the 218 votes needed to advance the bill to the Senate.

But one Republican congressman, Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.), hinted at a much different reality in a tweet Monday morning:

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Amash was elected to Congress in 2010. He is a member of the House Freedom Caucus, which said Friday it "opposes the GOP replacement bill in its current form."

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Kimberly Alters

Kimberly Alters is the news editor at TheWeek.com. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.