Rep. Tom MacArthur announced Tuesday he is stepping down as the co-chair of the moderate Tuesday Group.
He announced his decision during a routine luncheon with members of his group. MacArthur was a key author of an amendment that salvaged the GOP’s efforts to repeal and replace Obamacarem but his involvement in negotiations with members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus had caused tension for moderate members who believed MacArthur had left them in a tough position on health care.
“While some embraced my efforts as co-chairman, others have bristled,” MacArthur told his colleagues during his announcement. “Clearly, our group is divided. Many in the Tuesday Group are eager to live up to our ideal of being problem-solvers, while others seem unwilling to compromise. The recent health care debate was illustrative.”
MacArthur’s resignation was first reported by Politico New Jersey. MacArthur told his colleagues in the meeting that he was no longer able to be a leader of the group.
“More than half of the no votes for the (American Health Care Act) came from Tuesday Group members, despite almost every one of our members voting numerous times to repeal the (Affordable Care Act). Arguably, we have a congressional majority because of this very issue,” MacArthur said. “Frankly, inaction on health care was a non-starter for me, and it should be for our entire party. We owe it to the American people who elected us to fix the Obamacare mess. Just because it’s hard cannot become an excuse to do nothing.”
MacArthur told his colleagues that “it’s clear that some in the Tuesday Group have different objectives and a different sense of governing than I do.”
Members of the Tuesday Group said that no one had forced MacArthur out.
“We did not ask for his resignation,” New York Republican Rep. Chris Collins said. “It was a personal decision.”
Tuesday Group co-chair Rep. Charlie Dent said that “Tom is a friend and a colleague and he’s a valued member of the group.”
Asked if MacArthur hadn’t stepped down would he have been forced out after the high-profile split on health care, Dent waved off the question and said “I won’t speculate on that.”
Dent now co-chairs the Tuesday Group with New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik. Dent said no decisions had been made yet on whether there would be a replacement.