Health-care fallout prompts Tom MacArthur to resign as co-chair of centrist House GOP caucus

By Mike DeBonis May 23 at 3:58 PM

A co-chairman of the Tuesday Group resigned his position leading the caucus of centrist House Republicans on Tuesday, citing raw feelings over his role in brokering a compromise that set up passage of the GOP health-care overhaul this month.

Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.) negotiated for weeks with the chairman of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus and other parties inside the House GOP, crafting an amendment that persuaded enough conservatives and moderates to support the teetering American Health Care Act.

The bill passed the House on May 4 by a vote of 217 to 213, and the Senate is now considering how to proceed with the legislation. But three weeks after the vote, some Tuesday Group members remain displeased that MacArthur played a key role in moving it forward.

MacArthur, a former insurance executive, announced his resignation Tuesday at a luncheon meeting of the group, telling colleagues that some members “have different objectives and a different sense of governing than I do,” according to prepared remarks his office shared with reporters.

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