Seth Meyers responds to email Paul Ryan's office sent him about the health-care bill
Last week, Seth Meyers reminded House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) how much he complained about the Affordable Care Act being pushed through too quickly in 2009, only to change his tune in 2017 when it was his Republican Party trying to pass a health-care bill. This went over in Ryan's office about as well as expanding Medicaid to cover more poor people, and aides quickly dashed off an email to Late Night, refuting Meyers' points.
"Unlike Republicans and their health-care bill, we actually read the whole email," Meyers said Monday night, adding that he "genuinely appreciated" hearing from Ryan's team, and announced there is a standing offer for Ryan to appear on the show. That being said, Meyers did not agree with the statements made in the email, starting with Ryan's office claiming the bill was not rushed. "The bill has been online for a month, went through four House committees, and the only change this week was a simple three-page amendment," the office said. This was misleading for several reasons, Meyers said, not least because many lawmakers changed their mind on the bill because of the amendment. "A lot can happen in three pages," Meyers said. "That's like saying, 'I made you a cappuccino with hot water, sugar, espresso, and one other ingredient.' You would say, 'Well, what's the other ingredient, Mr. Cosby?'"
Ryan's office also had a problem with Meyers saying the bill takes from the poor to give to the rich by enacting tax cuts for the wealthy while cutting $880 billion from Medicaid, and declaring that the bill's new provision letting states waive ObamaCare's ban on pre-existing conditions makes it even worse than the previous version. You can find out how Meyers responded in the video below. Catherine Garcia
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
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.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Shoot to Kill: Terror on the Tube – a 'raw' and 'riveting' docuseries
The Week Recommends Channel 4's 'gripping' two-part show explores the Metropolitan police killing of an innocent man in the aftermath of 7/7
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
'Salute to those who served'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Europe's all-inclusive holiday trend
The Week Recommends Big US chains are capitalising on the 'recent surge' in package breaks to bring upscale resorts to Europe
By Tess Foley-Cox Published
-
ACA opens 2025 enrollment, enters 2024 race
Speed Read Mike Johnson promises big changes to the Affordable Care Act if Trump wins the election
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
McDonald's sued over E. coli linked to burger
Speed Read The outbreak has sickened at least 49 people in 10 states and left one dead
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Texas dairy worker gets bird flu from infected cow
Speed Read The virus has been spreading among cattle in Texas, Kansas, Michigan and New Mexico
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Dengue hits the Americas hard and early
Speed Read Puerto Rico has declared an epidemic as dengue cases surge
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US bans final type of asbestos
Speed Read Exposure to asbestos causes about 40,000 deaths in the U.S. each year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Seattle Children's Hospital sues Texas over 'sham' demand for transgender medical records
Speed Read Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton subpoenaed records of any Texan who received gender-affirming care at the Washington hospital
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Afghanistan has a growing female suicide problem
Speed Read The Taliban has steadily whittled away women's and girls' rights in Afghanistan over the past 2 years, prompting a surge in depression and suicide
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US life expectancy rose in 2022 but not to pre-pandemic levels
Speed Read Life expectancy is slowly crawling back up
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published