Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
Former President Barack Obama released a blistering statement on Thursday condemning Senate Republicans’ plans to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, calling the draft legislation a “massive transfer of wealth from middle-class and poor families to the richest people in America.”
The remarks come just hours after Senate Republican leaders unveiled their draft proposal to undo Obama’s signature health care law, which includes cuts to both Medicaid spending and taxes on the rich.
In his statement Thursday, Obama warned Republicans of the dangers of circumventing the legislative process simply for the sake of delivering on a campaign promise.
“I recognize that repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act has become a core tenet of the Republican Party,” the former president wrote. “Still, I hope that our senators, many of whom I know well, step back and measure what’s really at stake, and consider that the rationale for action, on health care or any other issue, must be something more than simply undoing something that Democrats did.”
Since leaving office in January, Obama has largely abstained from directly criticizing his successor and various Republican legislative efforts.
