President Trump on Friday warned any Republicans who choose not to support the Graham-Cassidy healthcare bill will face a challenging future in politics.
“Rand Paul, or whoever votes against Hcare Bill, will forever (future political campaigns) be known as “the Republican who saved ObamaCare,” Trump tweeted Friday morning.
On Wednesday, Trump urged the Republican Kentucky senator to stop opposing the Senate’s last-ditch effort to overhaul Obamacare by giving states control of billions of dollars in healthcare funding.
“Rand Paul is a friend of mine but he is such a negative force when it comes to fixing healthcare. Graham-Cassidy Bill is GREAT! Ends Ocare!” Trump tweeted. “I hope Republican Senators will vote for Graham-Cassidy and fulfill their promise to Repeal & Replace ObamaCare. Money direct to States!”
In a Fox News interview that aired Wednesday as Trump was tweeting, Paul listed the reasons he would continue to rally against the bill.
“This bill actually keeps the Obamacare spending and just redistributes it among the states. It’s a $1.2 trillion federal grant program and that’s just not repeal,” Paul said. “It’s barely Obamacare light. It keeps Obamacare.”
Paul said a number of caucus members have objected to the bill, but did not name any lawmakers he personally knows who oppose the legislation.
“There are a number of people wary of this. They are holding their nose to vote for this thing,” Paul added.
