One of Donald Trump’s biggest promises on becoming President was he would repeal ‘Obamacare’, the healthcare plan that provides cover for millions of Americans but became a totemic issue against claims of rising premiums.
But there’s one problem. Republicans seem to have lost the legislation to overhaul the Affordable Care Act.
In an episode worthy of The Thick Of It, it looked like the details of the Bill were being hid from public scrutiny until the last possible minute.
Bloomberg Politics and the Washington Examiner reported that Republican leaders were putting the finishing touches on the legislation, but only a print-out would be made available to fellow members of the Grand Old Party. The document was reportedly in a sealed room in a Washington building, Capitol room H-157 to be precise.
Ominously, no copies will be allowed out of the room.
But Republican Senator Rand Paul was furious ...
He tweeted ...
“This is unacceptable. This is the biggest issue before Congress and the American people right now.”
So a political treasure hunt began ...
But to no avail ...
The Democrats were scenting blood ...
Steny Hoyer, who as a whip in the House of Representatives is one of the party’s enforcers, began his own search for the elusive legislation.
He took reporters with him on his search for the prize. However ...
So Hoyer, naturally, gave a soliloquy to a statue of Abraham Lincoln ...
“Mr Lincoln, I can’t find the Bill,” he mused, addressing the bust directly. “Mr Lincoln, you said public sentiment is everything. But if the public can’t see the Bill, they can’t give us their sentiment.
“That’s not regular order. That’s not democracy. That’s not good for our people. I know, Mr. Lincoln, you are as upset with your party as I am.”
You can watch the full address here ...
Other politicians joined in ...
And where is the Bill?
Updates to follow.
Since more than 20 million people now depend on the Affordable Care Act for healthcare coverage, they’ll probably need to find it. Makes the NHS seem positively sane by comparison.