Trump threatens the House Freedom Caucus on Twitter ahead of today's do-or-die health-care vote

(Image credit: Getty Images)

A scheduled House vote on the Republican health-care bill was delayed Thursday evening after conservative Freedom Caucus members announced a "no" stance on the legislation following an afternoon meeting with President Trump. Losing the support of the Freedom Caucus, which believes the GOP health-care replacement is too similar to ObamaCare, ultimately left Republicans with too few votes for the bill to pass. By Thursday evening, Trump had issued a frustrated ultimatum: Either Republicans approve the American Health Care Act on Friday, or ObamaCare stays.

By Friday morning, Trump had taken to Twitter in an attempt to crank up the pressure on the mutinous Freedom Caucus:

Some observers have pointed out that Trump's attempts to coerce the Freedom Caucus could easily backfire. "I can't think of a Freedom Caucus member who would change their vote as a result of this attack," tweeted Axios reporter Jonathan Swan. "If anything would just enrage [and] solidify."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

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.