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N.J.'s MacArthur resigns as co-chair of centrist House GOP bloc

WASHINGTON -- In the latest fallout from his high-profile foray into the effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Rep. Tom MacArthur has resigned as cochairman of the centrist Tuesday Group, where many fellow Republicans had opposed a health plan he pushed to House approval.

The decision, announced Tuesday, came after MacArthur riled House moderates -- and many of his South Jersey constituents -- by cutting a deal with the hard-right House Freedom Caucus for an amendment that weakened some of the health law's protections for people with preexisting medical conditions.

There was talk within the Tuesday Group of ousting MacArthur for making a deal many of them opposed, but he insisted he was not forced out. Many members didn't want him to even negotiate with the Freedom Caucus, which some Republicans blame as being an intractable opposition bloc.

"This was my own volition. …. You cannot lead people where they don't want to go," MacArthur told reporters off the House floor Tuesday.

He said he would remain a member of the centrist group, but would continue to negotiate with conservatives, predicting that such talks would likely "rankle" some colleagues again.

"I'm not looking to be a divisive figure inside of the Tuesday Group. These members have a right to their views. I don't share some of their views of what governing is," he said.

MacArthur's plan energized critics within his district, who have put up billboards calling for his job and railed against him at a recent town hall meeting.

MacArthur represents a moderate district that includes much of Burlington and Ocean Counties, and Democrats hope to oust him next year. A spokesman for the Democrats' congressional campaign arm said in a statement that MacArthur's move "should finally put to bed the myth of MacArthur as anything other than a right-wing ideologue."

MacArthur said he had no regrets about sponsoring the bill.

"It was important for our country. I think we have to fix health care or it's going to implode and hurt millions of people," he said.

A Congressional Budget Office estimate of the impact of his amendment is expected this week, potentially adding a major argument to the debate around his plan.

The health repeal effort is now pending in the Senate, where lawmakers are writing their own version.