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Steve Bannon Thought He Could Bully Republicans On Health Care. He Couldn't.

Steve Bannon Thought He Could Bully Republicans On Health Care. He Couldn't.

Steve Bannon reportedly tried to force House Freedom Caucus members to back replacing the Affordable Care Act when he met with them days before Friday’s repeal vote.

He failed miserably.

White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon reportedly told House Freedom Caucus members that they had
Jonathan Ernst / Reuters
White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon reportedly told House Freedom Caucus members that they had

In a report from Axios’ Mike Allen, sources said Bannon’s first words to the Republican members were that they would have “no choice” but to vote for the disastrous health care bill of President Donald Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.).

“Guys, look,” Bannon reportedly said. “This is not a discussion. This is not a debate. You have no choice but to vote for this bill.”

Bannon apparently did not count on the fact that House Republicans knew they actually did have a choice in the matter.

“You know, the last time someone ordered me to something, I was 18 years old,” one of the members reportedly told Bannon. “And it was my daddy. And I didn’t listen to him, either.”

In a humiliating turn for Trump’s White House, the bill was pulled off the table just minutes before a vote was scheduled to take place on Friday.

Earlier in the day, The Daily Beast reported that anyone who didn’t follow Bannon’s orders would be put on a “shit list.”

“[Bannon] has told the president to keep a shit list on this,” one official reportedly told the publication. “He wants a running tally of [the Republicans] who want to sink this … Not sure if I’d call it an ‘enemies list,’ per se, but I wouldn’t want to be on it.”

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