- A Republican congressman in the House on Thursday tore up a Democratic resolution critical of a proposed regulatory change introduced by the Trump administration on healthcare.
- GOP Rep. Paul Mitchell of Michigan copied House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to express his anger at the resolution, which would criticize Trump's efforts to reduce Medicaid spending.
- Other Republicans have duplicated Pelosi in the days since she tore up Trump's State of the Union Address.
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A GOP lawmaker tore up a resolution on the House floor critical of a Trump administration proposal that would slash spending on health benefits for the poor on Thursday. It was a move copied from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who ripped apart the president's State of the Union address earlier this week.
Rep. Paul Mitchell of Michigan was registering his disapproval with the resolution that House Democrats introduced. It would put every Democratic and Republican senator on the record over whether they support a regulatory change unveiled by the Trump administration to reform Medicaid.
Critics argue the plan would make it harder for low-income people to get health benefits. But the Republican-led Senate is unlikely to take up the resolution. Most GOP lawmakers like Mitchell support the Trump administration's healthcare efforts.
"So let me at this point in time express my opinion, exercise my first amendment rights, simply by saying..." Mitchell said and briefly paused.
Then he tore up the House resolution in half, allowed the papers to flutter onto the floor and abruptly walked away from the lectern.
The Michigan lawmaker's action was reminiscent of Pelosi tearing up her copy of President Trump's State of the Union Address on Tuesday, which other Republicans have replicated.
"Acquitted for life," House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said in a Twitter video, before ripping up what appears to be the articles of impeachment against Trump. The Senate acquitted him on Wednesday on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of justice.
The health proposal from the Trump administration would allow states to opt for a Medicaid block grant, effectively shifting the structure of the safety-net program from an open-ended entitlement into one with capped benefits.
It gives states that decide to take part broad flexibility to design health coverage as they see fit. But experts say that Medicaid beneficiaries would see reductions in their insurance coverage.
"People enrolled in Medicaid will likely see cuts to their benefits, and coverage will likely become more unaffordable," Jessica Schubel, a senior policy analyst at the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, previously told Business Insider.