President Trump warned House Republicans on Thursday that he will leave ObamaCare in place unless they approve legislation to repeal and replace it. Trump officials meeting with the House GOP conference said Trump is done negotiating over the legislation, which was set to come up for a vote Thursday but was delayed.
Sean Spicer's view on ObamaCare
"My understanding is he’s going to get it," White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said on "The O'Reilly Factor." "We’re hoping to make this the last anniversary that any American has to suffer under ObamaCare by instilling a patient-centric health care system in place, and the president has made that case to members throughout the spectrum of the Republican conference, and tomorrow, it’s time to vote," he added.
The vote is scheduled to take place on Thursday evening, 23 March. Yet, despite the majority of Republicans in the House of Representatives, the outcome of the vote remains uncertain, to materialize what was a major campaign pledge by Donald Trump.
Working with @POTUS, we have made improvements to the American Health Care Act. https://t.co/lk5CA5ziFB pic.twitter.com/p7Vb8Wz2AF
— Paul Ryan (@SpeakerRyan) 21 March 2017
According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), 14 million people will lose their health coverage next year if the Republican bill is passed. The Republican bill, known as the American Health Care Act (AHCA), cancels the fine imposed on those who do not subscribe to health coverage, reduces Medicaid funding, the program for the poor and Disabilities, and changes subsidies that help individuals secure themselves.
Winning is easy, governing is harder
The high-stakes meeting of Republicans Thursday night, including dueling factions of Freedom Caucus conservatives and Tuesday Group moderates, followed days of intense political intrigue as the bill's fate hung in the balance, and came after repeated changes to the legislation designed to win over holdouts.
As it stands, the American Health Care Act is unlikely to pass the Senate in its current form. But Republican leaders need to get it out of the House first. So Trump is making his risky bet and gambling that rank-and-file Republicans will stick by him in a high-stakes vote. Exiting the meeting, several members predicted the party would fall in line.
