President Donald Trump exhorted lawmakers Wednesday to resurrect the failed Republican plan to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act, injecting fresh turmoil into an issue that had appeared settled the day before, when Senate leaders announced they did not have the votes to pass their bill.
Trump’s remarks, at a lunch with 49 Republican senators, prompted some of them to reopen the possibility of trying to vote on the sweeping legislation they abandoned earlier this week. But there was no new evidence that the bill could pass.
At the lunch, the president also threatened electoral consequences for senators who oppose him, suggesting that Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., could lose his reelection bid next year if he doesn’t back the effort. The president also invited conservative opposition against anyone else who stands in the way.
“Any senator who votes against starting debate is really telling America that you’re fine with Obamacare,” Trump proclaimed.
(c) 2017, The Washington Post · Sean Sullivan, Kelsey Snell, David Nakamura
{Matzav.com}
