President-elect Donald Trump may have cranked up the heat on Republican lawmakers working to repeal and replace Obamacare, telling the New York Times the two goals must be accomplished “together” in an interview published Tuesday.
Trump told members of his party a week ago to “be careful” in how they proceed legislating on the issue, given that Democrats are stuck with the law’s political baggage. Soon after, Vice President-elect Mike Pence and House speaker Paul Ryan said undoing the Affordable Care Act and enacting its successor would be done in two steps, with Pence specifying that the second order of business would be to “begin [an] orderly transition” to a new health care regime. Although Pence didn’t attach a timeline to that arrangement, it has appeared to be, in broad terms, the GOP’s expected path forward.
But the president-elect argued for different plans in the Times report, no matter how infeasible they would be to pursue.
GOP senators trying to get their feet on the brakes include the recently reelected Rob Portman, who directed the Office of Management and Budget during the George W. Bush administration and was part of a group that introduced a budget amendment Monday slowing the repeal and replace action. The budget resolution before the Senate instructs committees to report deficit-reduction legislation that is expected to include Obamacare repeal, and to do so no later than January 27. The amendment from Portman and Sens. Bill Cassidy, Bob Corker, Susan Collins, and Lisa Murkowski would delay the deadline to March 3. Corker nodded to Trump’s wishes that repealing and replacing the law “take place simultaneously” in a statement accompanying the amendment’s announcement.
Sen. Rand Paul, who has advocated such an approach himself, tweeted late Friday that the president-elect agreed with his views, per a phone call between the two men. Incoming White House chief of staff Reince Priebus called pairing the two actions the “ideal” route during a weekend interview on Face the Nation.
The uncertainty complicates the hopes of Republicans looking to repeal much of the health care law immediately. Doing so through “budget reconciliation,” which would gut the law’s budgetary provisions—including the individual mandate—can be accomplished with a simple Senate majority. But with only a 52-48 advantage in seats held, the five amendment-backers and Paul present a significant potential obstacle.
