Ted Cruz calls CNN out for obvious double standard in health care reporting

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R) took a shot at CNN Thursday, when he noticed the news outlet sent out a tweet referring to his health care amendment as the “so-called Consumer Freedom amendment.”

In addition to the tweet, the CNN story refers to Cruz’s amendment as “so-called.”

The Texas senator is not the only top Republican concerned about a double standard in CNN’s reporting. President Donald Trump has also called out CNN — which he calls the “Fraud News Network” — by tweeting a video of himself earlier this month appearing to tackle the news outlet in a wrestling match.

“It is a sad day when the president of the United States encourages violence against reporters,” CNN said in a statement about the controversial tweet.

As for health care reform, Cruz said Thursday he would support the Senate’s latest bill to repeal and replace Obamacare as long as his amendment is included in the legislation. The Consumer Freedom amendment allows insurers to sell plans that don’t meet all of the Obamacare requirements as long as they feature at least one plan that does.

It was also reported Thursday by the Independent Journal Review that Republicans might move forward with Cruz’s plan without first waiting for an assessment from the Congressional Budget Office. Instead, the Trump administration — through the Department of Health and Human Services — would score the amendment.

Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) confirmed the report on Thursday, saying, “I think we’ll get other feedback from HHS, [the White House Office of Management and Budget] and others who also have models that can take into consideration.”

Using the Trump administration to score the bill could provide a much more favorable outcome. The CBO score found that the House bill to repeal and replace Obamacare would lead to 23 million people being uninsured over a decade. A similar analysis by HHS found that number to be much lower at 13 million.

All of this comes as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) delayed the Senate’s August recess by two weeks in order to give lawmakers more time to pass the health care legislation.