Democratic lawmakers staged an impromptu sit-in at the Capitol over TrumpCare

(Image credit: TASOS KATOPODIS/AFP/Getty Images)

published 27 June 2017

On Monday night, a group of Democratic lawmakers sat down on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to talk about Republicans' plan to repeal and replace ObamaCare. The impromptu event started with Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) streaming a Facebook Live talk about TrumpCare, and it quickly grew from there.

Democratic Sens. Jeff Merkley (Ore.), Chris Murphy (Conn.), Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.), Brian Schatz (Hawaii), and Bob Casey (Penn.), among others, joined Booker and Lewis on the Capitol steps, as did a crowd of about 20 people. Ben Wikler, the Washington director of progressive public policy group Move On, estimated that by 11 p.m. ET Monday, "hundreds of people" were outside the U.S. Capitol "promising to show up every day this week to fight TrumpCare."