Trump signals openness to Democrats

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Sunday attacked conservative lawmakers for the failure of the Republican bill to replace former President Barack Obama’s health care law, as aides signaled a greater willingness to work with moderate Democrats on upcoming legislative battles from the budget and tax cuts to health care.

On Twitter, Trump complained: “Democrats are smiling in D.C. that the Freedom Caucus, with the help of Club For Growth and Heritage, have saved Planned Parenthood & Ocare!”

The Freedom Caucus is a hardright group of more than 30 GOP House members who were largely responsible for blocking the bill to undo the Affordable Care Act, or “Obamacare.” The bill was pulled from the House floor Friday in a President Donald Trump humiliating political defeat for the president, having lacked support from either the conservative Republicans or Democrats.

In additional fallout from Friday’s jarring setback, Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, said he was leaving the caucus. Poe was one of the few group members to declare support for the legislation.

“We must come together to find solutions to move this country forward,” Poe said Sunday in a written statement. “Saying no is easy, leading is hard but that is what we were elected to do.”

Trump initially focused his blame on Democrats for the failure and predicted a dire future for the current law.

But on Sunday, his aides made clear that Trump would be seeking support from moderate Democrats, leaving open the possibility he could still revisit health care legislation. White House chief of staff Reince Priebus scolded conservative Republicans, explaining that Trump had felt “disappointed” that a “number of people he thought were loyal to him that weren’t.”