Many House Republicans went sleepless Wednesday night, as they performed a parody of the “markup process” — pushing their (widely reviled) health-care bill through two committees without accepting a single amendment.



Republican Senator Tom Cotton rewarded his colleagues’ hard work Thursday morning, by publicly denouncing it.

1. House health-care bill can't pass Senate w/o major changes. To my friends in House: pause, start over. Get it right, don't get it fast. — Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) March 9, 2017

2. GOP shouldn't act like Dems did in O'care. No excuse to release bill Mon night, start voting Wed. With no budget estimate! — Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) March 9, 2017

3. What matters in long run is better, more affordable health care for Americans, NOT House leaders' arbitrary legislative calendar. — Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) March 9, 2017

The Arkansas senator went father in an interview with CNN Thursday afternoon.

“What we need to deliver on is the promise that we would make health care more affordable for Americans. We would make it more accessible. And we would cut down on the stress and anxiety that health care causes for Americans,” Cotton said. “Unfortunately, the House’s legislation is not going to achieve those results. And the breakneck speed at which it’s moving is designed to actually make those results, probably, worse.”

Earlier today I joined @JakeTapper on @TheLeadCNN to discuss the House GOP healthcare plan. WATCH: pic.twitter.com/Z5SP0DvYtU — Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) March 9, 2017

Cotton went on to say that the American Health Care Act (AHCA) “would not solve the problems of our health-care system,” and that “I am simply saying in public what many Republicans are voicing” in private.

Several Republican senators have raised concerns about the House bill. But Cotton’s rebuke may be the most emphatic. It’s also, perhaps, the most surprising — Cotton has been one of Donald Trump’s more reliable defenders in the Senate, and the president has implored his party to support the House bill.

Other GOP senators may soon join Cotton in caustic opposition. A Brookings analysis released Thursday afternoon projects that the AHCA would throw 15 million off their insurance plans — and those in red states would be the hardest hit.

whoa if true Brookings report: they think CBO will find 15M or more lose coverage under AHCA. https://t.co/cNNr1fxzKH — Sarah Kliff (@sarahkliff) March 9, 2017