Bitter GOP Finger-Pointing Clouds Path for Trump Agenda

It apparently never occurred to him to become fluent, or even conversant, in the details – of the legislation, of health care policy in general, in the legislative process, or really in much of anything.

Spicer’s comments were a stunning contrast to Trump’s attitude about the American Health Care Act, which he and House Speaker Paul Ryan withdrew last Friday before even putting it to a vote. Many of them also opposed the leadership’s failed bill because it would have pried health coverage from millions of voters.

“It wasn’t just conservatives in the House”.

“But he’s going to have to tell the Freedom Caucus and the hard-right special wealthy interests who are dominating his presidency … he can’t work with them, and we’ll certainly look at his proposals”, Schumer said. “Suggesting that he’s going to negotiate with us, and simultaneously asking for cuts in the budget that will hurt our constituents tremendously, or cutting funding for sanctuary cities, or going after the undocumented in a way that’s causing unbelievable stress in our communities, is not going to work”.

In a tweet on Sunday, the president slammed the House Freedom Caucus and the right-leaning Heritage Foundation’s opposition to the bill.

“Today’s a great day for our country”, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said. “It’s a victory. What happened on the House floor is a victory for the American people, for our seniors, for our people with disablilites, for our children, for veterans”, she said in a press conference with fellow House Democrats on Friday. “All we’ve learned is that in addition to having unacceptable ideas, he has a political shop that can’t get them done”. “I don’t think we need to go home until we get the solution done”, he said, adding that he spoke Monday to Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, and that he had some specific changes in mind.

Trump’s fellow Republicans control both houses of Congress. Trump had courted Freedom Caucus lawmakers intensively.

“Your administration must commit to putting an end to all efforts to unravel the ACA, undermine the health care system, increase costs, or hurt patients, providers and families”, the letter tells Trump. So he will wait on health care reform while pursuing other priorities. “We are going to move on with rest of our agenda, keep that on track, while we work the health care problem”, he said.

Democrats are wrong to gloat about the Republican failure to advance the promised repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act.

Allowing Obamacare to implode on its own, as many of its critics suggested on Friday, may sound like a wise move from a political prospective, but would take a bad toll on ordinary Americans.

Can the parties agree to revise and not replace Obamacare? “Just remember when it explodes, this is their bill not ours”.

House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady said he’s encouraging the Senate to advance its “repeal and replacement plans” on health care.

“I honestly think many of you will lose your seats in 2018 if you don’t get this done”, he said in a meeting with Republicans.

Ryan denied that the defeat would hurt the Republican’s other legislative efforts, but the Democrats, who, only days ago, seemed demoralized and defeated, are certainly feeling the momentum and may be encouraged to actually fight against bills that may have previously seemed inevitable.