Trump: Health vote is GOP’s chance to keep vow
WASHINGTON — A peeved President Donald Trump browbeat Republican opponents of his party’s reeling health care bill Monday, asserting that his predecessor’s signature overhaul has meant “death” and saying the Senate’s planned faceoff vote is their chance to keep their pledge to repeal it.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he’d call a vote Tuesday on beginning debate on the legislation. While a victory on that initial but crucial roll call seemed an uphill climb, some Republicans expressed a new optimism that it would prevail — though the measure’s ultimate fate still seemed gloomy.
McConnell, R-Ky., said he’s “made a commitment to the people I represent” to undo President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, in what seemed a pointed reminder to Republican senators that they’ve made the same vow.
McConnell did not describe precisely what version of the GOP legislation senators would be voting on, though No. 2 House GOP leader John Cornyn of Texas said later that Republicans would discuss that at a private lunch before the vote. That omission has caused confusion and frustration among some Republican senators.
At the White House, Trump lambasted Democrats who helped enact the 2010 health care law and uniformly oppose the GOP attempt to scrap and rewrite it.
“They run out and say, ‘Death, death, death,’” Trump said, with a backdrop of families that he said
WASHINGTON — Passions are running high on Capitol Hill — but pistols at 10 paces over health care?
GOP Rep. Blake Farenthold of Texas is angry with some fellow Republicans in the Senate who are balking at parts of legislation to overturn “Obamacare.” After GOP promises to repeal the law, that “is just repugnant to me,” he says. Who’s to blame? “Some of the people that are opposed to this, there are some female senators from the Northeast,” Farenthold said.
And it’s a good thing they’re women, according to the congressman from Corpus Christi.
“If it was a guy from south Texas, I might ask them to step outside and settle this Aaron Burr-style,” he said. That was a reference to the 1804 firearms duel in which Vice President Aaron Burr killed former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton.
Who are those female senators from the Northeast?
Farenthold named no names. But Susan Collins of Maine has been consistent in opposing the GOP replacement for Obamacare. She remains concerned about deep cuts in Medicaid and has criticized the bill-writing process, with about a dozen men crafting the measure behind closed doors. Under the latest iteration of the bill, 22 million more
have encountered problems getting affordable, reliable medical coverage because of Obama’s statute. “Well, Obamacare is death. That’s the one that’s death.”
Some Democrats have said the GOP repeal effort would lead to death for patients who lose coverage. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has said various versions of the legislation would mean more than 20 million Americans would become uninsured people would become uninsured by 2026, many of them Medicaid recipients, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
Asked about Farenthold’s comments, Collins said: “In the 20 years that I’ve been in the Senate, I’ve heard a lot of suggestions for how to resolve disagreements. But this is the first time that anyone has suggested a duel. And as far as I know, dueling is illegal in every state. He’ll be disappointed, I guess.”
Other female senators who have expressed reservations are Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, some distance from the Northeast.
Farenthold made his comments
by 2026.
But Trump focused many of his remarks on GOP senators. McConnell is nursing a slim 52-48 majority and can risk few defectors.
“For Senate Republicans, this is their chance to keep their promise. Over and over again, they said, ‘Repeal and replace, repeal and replace.’ But they can now keep their promise,” Trump said.
At least a dozen Republican senators have publicly in a radio interview Friday with Bob Jones of Corpus Christi radio “1440 Keys.”
In a statement late Monday, the Texas lawmaker said: “This was clearly tongue-in-cheek. That being said, I’m extremely frustrated with Senate Republicans who are breaking their promise to the American people to repeal and replace Obamacare.”
For weeks, Senate Republicans have struggled to agree on a bill to repeal and replace much of the 2010 law. Lacking support, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has postponed votes twice but hopes to bring the latest measure up again on Tuesday.
opposed or criticized the legislation, more than enough to kill it. That’s forced McConnell to step back twice from anticipated votes and to revise his bill in hopes of mollifying unhappy moderates and conservatives.
Moderate Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, remained opposed to beginning debate on any option McConnell has revealed so far, and other Republicans remained uncommitted.
But senators and aides said talks were underway on issues including potentially giving states more leeway on using federal funds to help people losing Medicaid coverage.
“I think we’re going to proceed to debate,” Cornyn said.
McConnell’s measure would uproot much of Obama’s law, eliminating its tax penalties on people not buying policies, cutting the Medicaid health care program for the poor and providing less generous health care subsidies for consumers.
Complicating McConnell’s task, Ohio GOP Gov. John Kasich said it would be a mistake for the Senate to move ahead Tuesday “and force a one-sided deal that the American people are clearly against.”
Kasich’s stance could make it harder for wavering Sen. Rob Portman, ROhio, who’s criticized the measure’s Medicaid cuts, to back the legislation.
Yet in one possible sign of progress by leaders, Portman said it’s “not as important to me” to know what bill McConnell would move to if the Senate votes to begin debate.
Kasich panned the bill for a lack of “bipartisanship, transparency or open dialogue.” In a statement, the 2016 GOP presidential contender said Congress should take no action on recrafting the nation’s health care system until it can “step back from political gamesmanship and come together with a workable, bipartisan plan.”
Yet Portman and other undeclared Republican senators were also being pounded by the White House.
“Republicans have a last chance to do the right thing on Repeal & Replace after years of talking & campaigning on it,” Trump tweeted earlier Monday.
Trump’s contentious tone toward his own party underscored the high stakes as he tries avoiding the specter of Republicans sinking one of his top priorities.