Louie Gohmert explodes over GOP leadership's 'lie' to Trump, Freedom Caucus about health care bill

Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert (R) explained on Fox News Saturday that the attitude of GOP leadership and the White House following their failure to replace Obamacare on Friday is unacceptable.

Detailing how Obamacare has hurt the majority of Americans, especially the elderly, on "Fox and Friends Weekend," Gohmert said that it appears the GOP leadership's current strategy is "we're gonna hurt our elderly folks a little more, but don't worry."

Gohmert, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, said the GOP Obamacare replacement — which was widely criticised for being a watered down version of Obamacare — was "based on a lie."

According to Gohmert, this was the lie: "We can't do what you guys want to do because the parliamentarian won't allow us to do it. Now, we can't check with the parliamentarian until we pass the bill in the House, send it to the Senate, and then the parliamentarian can rule."

"The parliamentarian never rules! That's a lie!" Gohmert exclaimed.

Gohmert said that the House Freedom Caucus was told that language repealing Obamacare regulations such as the "essential health benefits" could not be included in the House bill because it would endanger the Senate's ability to pass it with a 51-vote simple majority. He explained that House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) said that Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough could rule to strip the bill of those measures before a Senate vote and that's why they couldn't be included in the bill.

"But they never checked with the parliamentarian," Gohmert said. "[Sen.] Mike Lee checked and it was all fine."

When asked by Fox host Brian Kilmeade if he has lost confidence in Ryan as the GOP leader, Gohmert said he wasn't sure.

"I don't know. We have to learn from this disastrous mistake that was based on something that ... they told the president repeatedly something that was not true," Gohmert said.

"This was a bad bill because we read it, we knew what was in it, too many people did not," he concluded.

Watch Gohmert's comments below: