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Obama: Call it 'Trumpcare'
Obama tells Democrats: 'Don't rescue' Republicans on 'Trumpcare'
Story highlights
- Obama and Mike Pence are visiting their fellow party members on Capitol Hill
- This is likely Obama's last visit to Congress, and it comes as Republicans push to overturn his signature legislative accomplishment
Washington (CNN)President Barack Obama delivered a mandate to Democrats on Wednesday: "Don't rescue" Republicans on Obamacare.
Less
than three weeks out from leaving the White House, Obama visited
Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill with a mission to save his
signature healthcare reform law as Republicans are moving quickly to
unroll the Affordable Care Act.
In
the closed-door meeting, the President urged fellow Democrats to not
"rescue" Republicans by helping them pass replacement measures,
according to sources in the room.
He also floated this idea: Start referring to the GOP's new plan as "Trumpcare."
The
suggestion was a clear indication of the Democratic Party's goal of
turning the tables on Republicans, who are already facing pressure to
quickly craft a replacement bill.
As
he walked by a scrum of reporters, Obama would only say this about the
Democratic Party's message: "Look out for the American people."
The
feisty remarks from the outgoing President came as Republicans also
huddled on Capitol Hill Wednesday morning to chart their path forward
repealing Obamacare. Vice President-elect Mike Pence visited with GOP
lawmakers in what became a morning of dueling meetings on Day Two of the
new Congress.
Pence told reporters
following the meeting: "Make no mistake about it: We're going to keep
our promise to the American people -- we're going to repeal Obamacare
and replace it with solutions that lower the cost of health insurance
without growing the size of government."
The
public theater of the simultaneous meetings Wednesday was the clearest
indication in the new year that Obamacare will be an all-consuming and
deeply contentious political fight under the next president, Donald
Trump.
With Republicans about to
control the House, Senate and the White House, Democrats are
strategizing on ways to pressure the GOP against rolling back the law --
and ensuring the Republicans are held responsible for any disruptions
in health coverage. (Following their meeting, Democratic lawmakers
started to push the phrase: "Make America Sick Again" -- a play on
Trump's campaign slogan, "Make America Great Again.")
Republicans, meanwhile, have the massive task of figuring out how to replace what they repeal.
Republican
members leaving the meeting with Pence said the gathering felt like a
"pep rally" but that there were not many policy details discussed.
According to GOP Rep. Chris Collins, the party is eyeing the goal of
crafting a replacement proposal in six months.
Pence, who was a
congressman before serving as Indiana's governor, recalled his time in
the House and accused Democrats of breaking the promises made at the
time.
"The reality is that I was
here in March of 2010 in another capacity when Obamacare was signed into
law," Pence said alongside other GOP leaders including House Speaker
Paul Ryan. "I remember all those promises. We were told that if you like
your doctor, you can keep it. Not true."
Both
Ryan and Pence promised a "careful" replacement of the law, trying to
assuage concerns that a straight repeal of Obamacare would leave many
including those with pre-existing conditions without healthcare.
The
benefits of Obamacare was something the President emphasized in his
meeting with Democrats, according to Rep. Maxine Waters, and argued that
the country largely likes the law and that he has received countless
letters thanking him for Obamacare.
Another lawmaker in the room said the mood among Democrats was "fired up."
"In
two weeks I will no longer be a politician, but I'll still be a
citizen. I envy you so much right now, because I would love to be on the
field," Obama said, according to the member.
Too partisan?
Some lawmakers on Tuesday questioned the wisdom of planning clashing meetings, each designed to advance a partisan agenda.
"Any
type of a meeting that we have that's not bipartisan is not in the
proper scheme of things of starting out the new year," said Sen. Joe
Manchin, the moderate Democrat from West Virginia, who said he would
skip the Obama meeting.
"It's just
not a good situation for us to be in. So if Mr. Pence is coming up here
only to speak to Republicans and President Obama's coming here only to
speak to Democrats, I would be concerned about that. Because I don't
know how you change anything -- how do you change anything unless we all
come together?"
Republicans have
long vowed to get rid of Obamacare, voting on dozens of measures that
would repeal the law. Those attempts were largely theatre; there was
never a scenario in which Obama himself would approve the repeal of his
own landmark legislative accomplishment.
Trump
made getting rid of the law a key element of his campaign strategy. He
said on Twitter Tuesday that Obamacare provided "lousy healthcare." With
Trump headed for the Oval Office, and Republicans controlling both
houses of Congress, the prospects for a successful repeal now appear
more realistic.
On Tuesday, Senate
Republicans took their first steps toward repealing Obamacare, filing a
budget resolution reversing key elements of the law.
There
remain divisions, however, on which precise elements of the law to
scrap, and how to replace Obamacare with a law that doesn't strip
Americans of their health insurance.
Sen.
Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, wrote in an op-ed Tuesday that lawmakers
shouldn't vote on repealing Obamacare until a replacement plan was
developed.
"If Congress fails to
vote on a replacement at the same time as repeal, the repealers risk
assuming the blame for the continued unraveling of Obamacare. For mark
my words, Obamacare will continue to unravel and wreak havoc for years
to come," he wrote.
And Trump's
campaign manager Kellyanne Conway, who's been tapped to serve as his
senior counselor at the White House, said Tuesday that passing repeal
and replacement measures simultaneously would be "the ideal situation."
"We
don't want anyone who currently has insurance to not have insurance,"
Conway said on MSNBC, adding there "are some pieces of merit in the
current plan."
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