Ultimatum on Obamacare

If effort fails, Obamacare will stand, warns Trump

US President Donald Trump warns Republican lawmakers that former president Barack Obama’s health care system may be maintained if there is no vote to replace it.

WASHINGTON: Donald Trump warned Republicans that he is done negotiating and wants a vote on replacing Obamacare, warning that if the effort fails, his predecessor’s health care reforms will stand, lawmakers in an emergency meeting said.

In a high-stakes closed-door huddle with Republican lawmakers, White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney essentially issued an ultimatum from Trump after House Republican leaders postponed the vote amid the realisation it would not pass without key changes.

“The president has said he wants a vote tomorrow, up or down,” House Republican Chris Collins told reporters, paraphrasing Mulvaney’s remarks.

“If it doesn’t pass, we’re moving beyond health care,” he added by paraphrase, in a threat to lawmakers in Trump’s own Republican Party.

“We would be moving on to other parts of his agenda.”

The idea that Trump – who campaigned relentlessly last year on a pledge to bury Barack Obama’s signature legislative accomplishment – would wash his hands off the fight and let Obamacare stand is a startling departure from the party playbook.

Defeat would mark a stunning political setback for Trump, who prides himself on his dealmaking skills.

Mulvaney’s blunt take-it-orleave-it approach could be part of Trump’s hardball strategy to get Republican rebels to fall in line.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, a champion of the legislation dubbed the American Health Care Act, put on a brave face despite the Bill hanging by a thread.

“We have been promising the American people we will repeal and replace this broken law because it’s collapsing and failing families, and tomorrow we’re proceeding,” he told reporters after the conference meeting.

The president and his lieutenants had repeatedly voiced optimism about the Bill’s prospects, saying they had made progress convincing doubters to join his camp in dismantling the Affordable Care Act.

But the votes for Trump’s plan weren’t there.

“I am still a no at this time. I am desperately trying to get to yes,” said Mark Meadows, chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, whose members have demanded changes to the plan before giving their blessing.

Although Meadows sought to portray optimism about the process, he revealed the width of the gap between Trump and the plan’s opponents.

“At this point, we are trying to get another 30 to 40 votes that are currently in the ‘ no’ category to ‘yes,’” Meadows said after meeting with his caucus.

That did not happen, and Ryan pulled the Bill off the floor.

The Democratic minority is prepared to vote against the Bill as a bloc, so Republican leaders need to limit defections to fewer than 22 of their party’s 237 representatives among the House’s 430 current members. — AFP