GOP is a house divided on repeal of Obamacare

WASHINGTON — Less than twenty-four hours after Donald Trump had won the White House, House Speaker Paul Ryan triumphantly proclaimed the start of a new era of Republican leadership that would “hit the ground running.”

Six weeks into Trump’s administration, Republicans are running — just in different directions.

As congressional leaders move forward with efforts to undo former President Barack Obama’s health care law, conservative activists and GOP lawmakers are slamming the proposal as “Obamacare lite,” ”Obamacare 2.0” and “RINOcare” — RINO standing for Republicans In Name Only, a term of derision.

Swing state senators worry that their sickest and poorest constituents could lose access to health care. Republican governors fear that millions of people now covered by Medicaid could be dropped, a step the governors warn could hurt GOP candidates in their states.

“We’ve said all along, ‘Work with the governors,’” said Gov. Brian Sandoval, R-Nev. “Well, they came out with their own bill, which doesn’t include anything that the governors have talked about.”

Republican leaders hoped unified control of Washington would unite the party around years of campaign promises to repeal the Affordable Care Act, cut taxes and slash regulations.

Instead, the celebratory weeks following Trump’s victory seem to have been little more than a temporary cease-fire in a yearslong GOP civil war.

“There are people who haven’t adjusted to the fact that we have a Republican president,” said Michael Steel, a top adviser to former Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, who frequently tangled with tea partyaligned lawmakers. “These guys could wind up leading the cavalry charge straight into machine-gun fire.”

The White House realizes that it must win over many of the objectors. With Democratic voters demanding nothing short of complete resistance to Trump, congressional passage of the Republican agenda will depend largely on party-line votes. That leaves limited room for GOP defections.