Yes. Trump isn't stupid like the ones in the Republican Party that want to vote against this. I'm not saying I'm for repealing obamacare, I'm not. But, what they have is better than nothing and it is still supposed to cover kids in families until they are 26 in College and beyond and it still is supposed to cover people with pre-existing conditions for life. But, if it doesn't do as promised when voted in people will also be up in arms once again.
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Trump warns House GOP members of electoral 'bloodbath'
Trump warns House GOP members of electoral 'bloodbath' if repeal and replace fails
Story highlights
- The plan includes tax incentives
- "This will be a plan where you can choose your doctor," Trump said
Washington (CNN)President
Donald Trump warned House Republicans Tuesday if they can't pass health
care legislation after seven years of promises it could be a
"bloodbath" in the 2018 midterm election, according to one member
present in the meeting.
Trump
vowed to throw his full support behind the effort to repeal and replace
the Affordable Care Act during a meeting with House GOP leadership,
saying he is "proud" to support a GOP-authored plan to replace Obamacare
and told members behind closed doors that he would support it "100%,"
according to sources in the room.
But
he warned lawmakers of the high-stakes nature of the effort, citing a
potential electoral "bloodbath," a member present said.
"He said he hopes members understand that," the source said.
Despite
early opposition from conservative groups and some members of Congress,
there was a lot of optimism among the House leadership members charged
with passing the legislation that members would come around.
Trump
promised House Republicans in the meeting he would use the power of the
bully pulpit -- calling and meeting with members -- to get
conservatives and moderates in line and pass the bill.
"I'm
proud to support the replacement plan released by the House of
Representatives and encouraged by members of both parties," Trump said
during brief remarks captured by the press pool.
Republicans
first unveiled their legislation, which would eliminate the individual
mandate to obtain health insurance contained in Obamacare and include
tax incentives meant to encourage Americans to purchase coverage, Monday
night.
The gathered lawmakers told
the President they faced obstacles ahead without any expectation of
Democratic support for their plan, nor any idea of where some
conservatives might land. The House GOP vote-counters told Trump they
planned to move forward with a whip count later this week
"We don't have it today, but I think we'll get it," a source in the room told CNN.
Trump's
remarks during the roughly 30-minute meeting with members in the East
Room of the White House reflected the most explicit administration
endorsement yet of the replacement health care plan.
"I
cannot comment on the discussions in closed door meetings," said
Lindsay Walters, a White House spokeswoman, when asked about Trump's
comments about the political pitfalls of failing to pass a replacement
plan.
Trump had not yet weighed in
overtly on the Republican plan until Tuesday afternoon. Earlier, he
tweeted support for the bill but also suggested there were elements of
the measure that could be changed.
"Our wonderful new Healthcare Bill is now out for review and negotiation," he wrote Tuesday morning.
Sources
in the room told CNN that Trump did not explicitly call out any member
or group opposed to the bill, but did emphasize the importance of
getting the job done and working together to do it.
"We cannot toss this out and start all over. We are too far down the road for that," the source said.
The
whip strategy going forward appears to be to remind members again and
again that voting against the House's bill is the same as voting against
their President, and handing a victory to Senate Minority Leader Chuck
Schumer and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. The strategy is to
remind members there is no second chance to get this right.
Vice
President Mike Pence also joined the meeting and was feeling hopeful
about the legislation's prospects in the Senate, sources said, despite
the fact that two senators have already come out with deep concerns
about the House legislation.
While
Trump said he was committed to the bill, he did indicate he was open to
making changes. Sources in the room, however, said that the changes
would have to win broad support and be passed through the amendment
process, making it difficult to amend the contours of the legislation in
any meaningful way.
"This is a guy who knows how to close a deal, and he thinks we are at the point were we need to close," the source said.
Trump took to Twitter Tuesday evening to reach out to one of the bill's most vocal conservative opponents.
"I
feel sure that my friend @RandPaul will come along with the new and
great health care program because he knows Obamacare is a disaster!"
Trump tweeted, just as an interview with Sen. Rand Paul was about to air
on CNN's Erin Burnett "OutFront."
In that interview taped
prior to Trump's tweet, the Kentucky Senator said he met with Trump and
didn't believe the two were "that far off" from each other on how to
proceed. Paul said they both want to repeal Obamacare, and the
disagreement came over how exactly to replace it -- and whether or not
that replacement should be combined with the repeal in one bill.
"I
did express with the President that I think separating repeal from
replacement will get it done, and I think that's maybe the only vehicle
for getting that done," Paul said.
He
described the House bill as "Obamacare lite," saying he breaks with the
Trump-endorsed bill because of tax credits, continuation of Obamacare
taxes, subsidies to insurance companies and what he called a "form of
the individual mandate."
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