Trump blames Republicans for Obamacare setback

The American Health Care Act, the Republican bill to repeal and replace Obamacare, suffered a quick and decisive defeat last week, pulled from the House floor before a vote because it couldn’t get enough support to pass.

“We promised that we would repeal and replace Obamacare, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do”, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., told reporters after the meeting.

Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., filed a bill Friday that fully repeals Obamacare. We’re going get to yes. In the meantime, health insurers must decide where they’ll offer coverage as well as their rates for next year by June. Despite efforts by Trump to bring along House Freedom Caucus members, many of them said they would vote against the American Health Care Act.

For well over a decade House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) was a steadfast supporter of all three ideas, including replacing tax and spending subsidies for health care and health insurance with a universal tax credit. “So, we had a good meeting”.

“Paul Ryan needs to step down”, Pirro said on the program, which opened with a full-on assault on the speaker.

“We are united around our agenda, and we all want to advance the agenda of freedom and limited government”.

Poe said the group spent over an hour with President Donald Trump and members of his administration making compromises on the legislation – only for the group to reject the bill.

“People think “the Freedom Caucus owes us an explanation” – by golly the Freedom Caucus stood up and said ‘OK here’s where we were, here’s why we were where we were, ‘” Texas Rep. Trump seemed eager to move onto something new. but he did tweet that he would make a deal with Democrats once Obamacare bites the dust.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, meanwhile, appeared resigned that the battle over Obamacare is over, at least for now. “We believe it will not work out”.

During their leadership news conference Tuesday morning, Republican Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana said that Democrats’ celebration Friday had been “premature”. And once they do, how do they get the votes to pass them?

The White House was less committal. More conservative legislators, including members of the Freedom Caucus, were frustrated the bill didn’t fully roll back the Affordable Care Act before building something new. And he suggested in a tweet that Democrats would want to work with him if the law implodes.

“Were at the beginning of a process”, Spicer said.

“We’re going to get a yes”.

Short said that “of course” the White House hopes to avoid a shutdown.

“Can you add additional folks on without pushing additional folks off?”, he asked.

Even before the bill was pulled last week there were hints that President Trump thought it might be better politically to let Obamacare continue to collapse on its own.

“Drop repeal, drop it today and drop it for good”. The bill would erase the Affordable Care Act effective December 31, 2017.

But repeal lite could-although it’s unlikely-target the ACA’s subsidies, which make exchange plans affordable to middle and low-income individuals, said Spencer Perlman, director of health-care research at Veda Partners. “We always have been”, he said.

“It’s more or less a warning shot that we are willing to talk to anyone”.

Nor is it evidence that the conservative House “Freedom Caucus” should be booted from the Republican Party. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. Over and over, Ryan said he needed to do health reform before tax reform. Financials received a big boost following Trump’s surprise election in November and his promises of relaxed industry regulation, though those changes now look more distant.