Republicans resist Trump on medicare

Republican governors complain that a GOP proposal to replace former President Barack Obama’s health care law would force millions of lower-income earners off insurance rolls or stick states with the cost of keeping them covered.

Governors, especially those from political battleground states, were generally cool to the bill put forth in the Republicancontrolled US House. Some signalled that they would continue working on their own legislation to compete with the measure introduced Monday.

“We’ve said all along, ‘Work with the governors,’ that it should be a governor-led effort and for the Congress to rely on the governors,” Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval said on Tuesday. “Well, they came out with their own bill, which doesn’t include anything that the governors have talked about.”

Republican governors lead 33 states, across all regions, and represent states pivotal to President Donald Trump’s victory in November, including much of the upper Midwest. Their role in the health care debate could influence the biggest public policy changes this year and help determine the party’s future.

At the heart of their criticisms is that the House plan would jeopardize coverage for roughly 11 million people covered through the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion.

Capitol Hill provided little support to bolster his explosive and unsubstantiated claim.

Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, said he had not seen any evidence to back up a series of tweets by Trump on Saturday that accused Obama of wiretapping his phones at Trump Tower.

“We have an existing intelligence committee looking at all aspects of what may have been done last year related to the Russians or the campaign and we’ll leave it there,” the Kentucky Republican told reporters.