(Photo by nevermindtheend)

It isn’t every day you get a press release from AARP saying they are bringing squirrels and puns to the Capitol. Normally, those come from PETA.

Nonetheless, Hill staffers may run into “human-size squirrels” on their commutes Thursday morning, and the double-takes will indeed be courtesy of the non-profit devoted to better aging.

An AARP staffer and an intern (both of whom volunteered enthusiastically, according to a spokesman) will don the suits to draw attention to provisions in the House GOP’s healthcare replacement bill, which the organization has dubbed an “age tax.”

Specifically, Obamacare limited the amount that insurance companies could employ age-rating, the practice of charging higher premiums for older adults, to three times what the young pay. Under the GOP’s new plan, that would be raised to five times the rate.

In response to Republicans’ plan, AARP immediately began to mobilize its significant base, producing a video in which a hale woodsman explains the changes with the help of a stuffed squirrel. It has been viewed more than 3 million times on Facebook.

Thursday’s protest was borne out of that viral success—and the ability to say that the provision is “nuts.”

“Anything we can do to drive home how bad this is we’re going to continue to do,” says AARP spokesman Josh Rosenblum. “Who knows what’s next.”

For now, the two human-sized squirrels will be hanging out with their handlers and other AARP staffers from 8:30-9:30 a.m. outside the Capitol South Metro station tomorrow morning. They’ll be handing out flyers and taking selfies.

Rosenblum assures us that “no squirrels were harmed in the making of the video or the protest.”