The Tuesday Group, an informal caucus of moderate Republicans, must reevaluate its future in the wake of Rep. Tom MacArthur, R-N.J., resigning as co-chairman, the Washington Examiner reported Monday.
MacArthur resigned last Tuesday after going against the advice of the other members and negotiating for a major amendment to the GOP health care plan that allows states to end mandates for insurance coverage of essential health benefits.
"You can’t lead people where they don’t want to go," he told Politico in an interview Tuesday. "I think some people in the group just have a different view of what governing is."
Although other members of the caucus urged MacArthur to step away from negotiations and leave it to committee members like Rep. Pat Tiberi of the House Ways and Means Committee, and Rep. Greg Walden of the Energy and Commerce Committee. Tuesday Group co-chairman Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania told the Examiner that they don’t want to repeat this mistake.
"We're completely relevant. We've always been relevant because we're the governing wing of the party. Our leadership needs us to get anything done," Dent said. "Anytime they need to get something done of consequence, we're the people that are seen as the ones ... leading the coalition to enact these types of measures. That's always the case. So we're extremely relevant and they need to pay attention to us."
MacArthur, who remains in the caucus, disagrees. He told the Examiner that other members of the group are unwilling to negotiate with the GOP’s various factions.
"I don't know," he said, when asked what the group would do next. "I made an effort to have the group be more relevant, have more impact as a group. Different members want different things."
"You can't lead people where they don't want to go. I just came to the conclusion that, for me, I don't want to change who I am. I'm going to keep negotiating with everyone, that includes the Freedom Caucus, and there are members who just don't want to do that," he added.
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