President-elect Trump’s comments about how Republicans should dismantle the Affordable Care Act are creating even more confusion on Capitol Hill, and have forced congressional leaders to struggle with keeping rank-and-file members in line ahead of votes in both chambers this week on the repeal vehicle.
“There’s confusion within our conference” about how Trump wants to “repeal and replace,” Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y. said on Tuesday.
Trump on Tuesday urged lawmakers to undertake take both actions “simultaneously” or “very quickly.” But Collins said his takeaway was that it may not have to be simultaneous.
“People are misquoting President-elect Trump,” explained Collins, Trump’s top House ally. “I’ll say replace it quickly, but not simultaneously.”
On Tuesday House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said it’s the goal of Republicans to “bring it all together concurrently,” after meeting with his conference Tuesday morning. Ryan discussed a staggered approach, which Collins claimed Tuesday afternoon Trump understands is more realistic.
Both chambers will first pass a budget resolution that will serve as the legislative vehicle for unwinding the massive health insurance law. Then, as soon as next month, they could vote on legislation that would repeal the current law while also replacing its most popular elements, such as allowing some adult children to stay on their parents plans past age 18. The most complex parts to unravel, such as dealing with the expansion of Medicaid, could take up to a year, Collins said.
Trump is “saying we can’t wait two years,” Collins said. “We’d all agree with that. But given this legislative body, it’s not going to be two weeks.”
Some lawmakers, such as members of the House Freedom Caucus, are demanding that Congress do it all in one package—repeal the Affordable Care Act and adopt replacement laws. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., on Monday claimed that Trump agreed with that approach.
Now Collins and Trump are walking back that assertion.
“You can’t repeal it and replace it quickly; that’s an oxymoron,” Collins said. “We can repeal it quickly. And we replace it in a timely fashion.”
The disorder is endangering Ryan’s plan of passing the budget resolution on Friday.
House members across the conservative spectrum were threatening Tuesday to vote against it. Beyond House Freedom Caucus members, Collins said Republicans in the centrist Tuesday Group, to which he belongs, could also defect.
The House Republican whip team has its work cut out for it, Collins said.
“Some of it’s confusion; some of it’s hand-holding,” he said, declining to predict whether the resolution will pass Friday.
Collins said that when Republicans and Trump meet in Philadelphia Jan. 25-27 for the annual GOP retreat, they will be able to clarify their positions.
“With everyone in the room in Philadelphia, I think a lot’s going to come out of that,” he said.
