An Idaho Republican faced an angry crowd on Wednesday night after he told his constituents that he did not believe healthcare was a “basic human right.”
Facing a packed crowd in a middle school auditorium, Rep. Raul Labrador answered questions about healthcare, abortion, and investigations surrounding President Donald Trump from an audience that included some anti-Trump constituents.
Labrador, who has been in office since 2010, was jeered when he responded to a question about healthcare, according to the Associated Press.
“I do not believe healthcare is a basic human right,” Labrador said. “I just don’t think it’s a right to have healthcare.”
Activists lined up outside of the middle school for several hours before the town hall-style event began, the news service reported. Members of the audience waved signs and shouted “Do your job” during the event.
Kicking off the event, Labrador reportedly told the crowd he was “super popular tonight,” laughing as crowd members jeered.
Labrador’s comments come as rumors that an amendment to the GOP’s failed healthcare legislation aiming to replace the Affordable Care Act is being considered by members of Congress.
Republican members of the Freedom Caucus and other more moderate members of the party are reportedly working on a new proposal that would allow states to opt-out of the ACA’s “essential health benefit” requirement, which covers maternity, mental health, and prescription drugs.
Text of the new deal could be released this week, according to Politico, and a vote could take place next week.
