‘MEAN’ BILL OF HEALTH
Trump trashes plan he once lauded Asks GOPers to be ‘more generous’
PRESIDENT TRUMP thinks the House-passed health care reform bill he celebrated just a month ago is “mean.”
Trump on Tuesday launched into an unexpected critique of the legislation he once championed as “incredibly well crafted” as he lunched with 15 GOP senators at the White House, congressional sources told The Associated Press.
The President told the senators, who are currently working on their own bill to replace Obamacare behind closed doors, that the House bill wasn’t up to snuff and directed them to come up with a version that is “more generous.”
He said the bill from the lower chamber didn’t go far enough in protecting individuals in the marketplace, according to CNN — and appeared to use that as his reasoning for why he has twice called for the Senate to “add more money” to the bill.
The vague comments came as a surprise, as the President has publicly praised the House measure and even threw a celebratory Rose Garden ceremony upon its narrow passage on May 4.
One source said Trump called the House bill “mean, mean, mean” and said, “We need to be more generous, more kind.”
A second AP source said Trump used a vulgar phrase to describe the House bill and told the senators, “We need to be more generous.”
The Congressional Budget Office found that the House bill would result in 23 million fewer people having health insurance over the next decade.
Trump’s comments appear to undercut efforts by Senate conservatives to impose restrictions in their chamber’s legislation, such as curbing the Medicaid health care program for the poor and limiting the services insurers must cover.
Republicans are preparing to ram through their legislation as quickly as possible in a bid to avoid public scrutiny, but have been slowed by disagreements between the party’s conservatives and moderates.
The group working on the law is reportedly almost done with a draft bill, but has no plans to share it with the full Senate, much less the public, to minimize criticism. Senate GOP aides hope to finish it sometime this week so they can get it to the Congressional Budget Office.
The CBO is expected to take roughly two weeks to score the bill. The goal is a vote on the Senate version of the bill before the July 4 recess.
“I really appreciate what you’re doing to come out with a bill that’s going to be a phenomenal bill to the people of our country: generous, kind, with heart. That’s what I’m saying,” Trump said during a brief public section of the meeting.
The remarks buoyed Democrats who have unanimously opposed efforts to dismantle former President Barack Obama’s legacy.
“Americans won’t forget that @HouseGOP passed a ‘mean’ bill to rip healthcare from millions then celebrated @ the WH,” Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) tweeted.
Trump later railed against Obamacare in a four-minute monologue from tarmac at Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee, where he posed between two families he dubbed “Obamacare victims.”
“It keeps going up and up and up and that’s where we are today,” Trump said of premiums under the current law.
He also blasted Democrats, saying they would not vote for the legislation no matter what it included.
“The Democrats have let you down, big league,” he told the crowd.