Rep. Ami Bella (D-Calif) defended the vote for Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) on Sunday, saying that the turmoil among his fellow Democrats in Trump's speech to Congress was a “distraction” from the party's strategy.
In an interview with NewsNation's “The Hill Sunday,” Anchor's Chris Stirewalt asked Bella what he would say to Democrats who argue that the president “doesn't play according to the rules,” so “the Democrats don't need to do that either.”
“I think we need fundamental courtesy,” Bella replied. “We need to stand up for the Americans.”
“I'm all about Let's [protect] Medicaid,” he continued. “But what Al did has become a distraction. Our caucus cannot be distracted.”
Greene was escorted, “You have no obligation to cut Medicaid,” after standing up to the president in minutes of his speech on Tuesday.
The moment came when Trump was boasting about his 2024 election victory.
The next day, House Republicans introduced a resolution denounced Greene in protest. The House of Representatives voted 224-198-2 to the resolution. Ten Democrats, including Bella, joined the Republicans and supported the measure.
Bella said Democrats had a strategy to highlight potential Medicaid cuts, which encouraged discipline in implementing their message.
“We have a strategy and we're doing it,” Bella said. “We know all the vulnerable Republicans. We know how many Medicaid patients there are in each district. If Congressional Republicans from Donald Trump, Elon Musk cut off Medicaid, we make sure that their members who lost their medical compensation actually know who did it.”
“That's the strategy. That's what we should do. It's not a distraction, what Al did – he's a friend – but it was a distraction,” Bella added.
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