Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is pushing back at criticism of an all-male Republican healthcare working group, insisting the entire conference – including five female senators – is involved.
"The working group that counts is all 52 of us, and we're having extensive meetings . . . every day," McConnell said, answering questions why there are no women on a 13-member working group, The Hill reported.
"Nobody is being excluded based upon gender."
McConnell scolded reporters for paying more attention to gender politics than policy negotiations.
"You need to write about what's actually happening, and we're having a discussion about the real issues," he said, per The Hill. "Everybody is at the table. Everybody."
"We just had a meeting for an hour, everybody was at the table. We'll have another meeting for an hour or so tomorrow. Everybody will be at the table," he added, per The Hill.
According to The Hill, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., was invited to meet with the working group Tuesday to talk about Medicaid reforms, but she said she didn't know if she would be part of any future meetings.
The Hill reported a McConnell spokesman said she will not be a regular member of the task force.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., the upper chamber's Minority Leader, pounced on the issue.
"If you look at the House bill, it is so discriminatory against women," he said, per The Hill. "To not have women in the smaller group that we know is making many of the real decisions is a very, very bad thing. They're more than half the population."
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