Donald tetchy over healthcare reform

– President Donald Trump heaped pressure on US legislators on Monday to pass a healthcare reform Bill before Congress goes on its August recess, with Republicans teetering on the edge of a potentially major failure.

Trump challenged fellow Republicans to make good on their signature campaign promise: repeal and replace “Obamacare”.

“I cannot imagine that Congress would dare to leave Washington without a beautiful new healthcare Bill fully approved and ready to go!” he wrote in a tweet yesterday.

Trump has made repealing and replacing the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA) a priority and last month, expressed confidence that the Senate Bill would be a “phenomenal” plan with “heart”.

When Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell unveiled the new Bill in June it faced internal dissent from the party and he could not get enough support before the July 4 holiday week. With Democrats united in opposition, he needs the votes from 50 of the 52 Senate Republicans to get it passed. But when he took the floor on Monday, he sounded no closer to corralling enough support to dismantle the ACA. –

Washington