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."
People shared stories about their life-saving health-care experiences, which Wikler tweeted out:
"I don't know if we beat TrumpCare," Wikler wrote. "But I know that tonight gave me hope for a movement that believes health care is a right."
This week, Senate Republicans are pushing to vote on their health-care bill, the Better Care Reconciliation Act. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated Monday that under the BCRA, an additional 22 million people would be uninsured by 2026 than under the current law, ObamaCare.