A Democratic senator said Tuesday he is open to supporting a Republican bill to repeal and replace Obamacare.
During a segment on CNN, anchor Kate Bolduan brought up President Trump’s tweet predicting that when Obamacare “folds” then Democrats will come to the table to make a deal. She asked Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., if he would support such a deal if it would repeal and replace former President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law.
“I absolutely do, and I hope it happens sooner rather than later,” Tester said.
Tester said that it is a “self-fulfilling prophecy” that Obamacare is “gonna go down” under the Trump administration. While Obamacare has done some good, it has it’s problems, he added. Tester voted in favor of Obamacare in 2009.
Bolduan asked for further clarification: “If the bill says ‘repeal’ on it, are you going to be able to support it?”
“Well, it depends what the replacement is,” Tester said. “If the replacement increases access and affordability, you’re darn right I’ll be there. If it just increases access but not affordability, then we got a problem.”
The senator is up for re-election in 2018 in a state Trump won by 20 percentage points.
