President Trump wants the House to pass the American Health Care Act this week and the White House is optimistic the votes are there to get the bill through the lower chamber.
White House chief of staff Reince Priebus said on CBS Monday he’s hoping the bill — which has been put on the floor and pulled once already — will get a vote this week.
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"Are you expecting a health care vote this week?" — @NorahODonnell"I certainly hope so… I think so." — @Reince Priebus#WHThisMorning pic.twitter.com/gJk3o3dDQP— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) May 1, 2017
“I certainly hope so. I think so,” Priebus said. “I’m an optimistic person.”
When asked if Republican leaders will have the votes to pass the bill, Priebus said, “I think we will, I think it will happen this week. So much has been made of this legislation and the timing … this will be one of the fastest signature pieces of legislation since Roosevelt, I believe.”
The American Health Care Act repeals and replaces parts of Affordable Care Act, President Obama’s signature legislative achievement. The fight over the bill has raged since Trump took office, and the GOP plan has endured numerous setbacks since it was first introduced last month.
Moments earlier, National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn also predicted that the bill would pass, after a deal was reached last week that brought conservative Republicans on board.
Priebus said the president still wants an aggressive legislative agenda, but is realizing some of the constraints of the process. Trump now wants tax reform done “by the end of the year” after originally proposing it would get done in the early summer months, Priebus said.
However, not much about Trump has changed since coming into office, he said.
“I wouldn’t say he’s changed,” Priebus said. “His positions are the same but his positions are causing others that he is speaking to to change their rhetoric and their positions on some matters.”
