18 Photos Of Republicans Looking Ecstatic After The AHCA Vote

The terrifying American Health Care Act (AHCA) took its first real step toward becoming law on Thursday when the latest version of the bill passed through the House of Representatives by a razor-thin margin of 217-213. While much of the country shared on social media their heartbreaking fears about how the bill could affect them, the GOP had a field day, taking delight in their opportunity to strip away health care from potentially millions of Americans. And these 18 photos of Republicans looking ecstatic about the AHCA show how detached they are from the consequences of their actions.

The full ramifications of the bill still aren't clear, in part because House Republicans pushed the bill through before the Congressional Budget Office was able to publish a report scoring its projected impact on the American economy. Assuming that up to 24 million Americans could lose their health care coverage due to inability to pay, as a CBO analysis of a previous version of the AHCA found, that potential devastation was certainly felt online as millions of tweets and posts poured in from people who are scared for their loved ones and themselves.

The only consolation is that the current Senate whip count means there's almost no way the legislation will pass. There are about four Republican senators who have effectively caucused with Democrats during the Trump presidency, and with only a two-seat majority, the AHCA's chance of getting through the Senate is small right now. However, if the bill does pass, there's exactly 18 months left until the 2018 midterm election, so you'd better get to work to take down the smug Republicans who are so happy about taking away people's right to live healthy lives.