House Speaker Paul Ryan was spotted at the White House on Wednesday, reportedly to discuss another attempt to pass healthcare legislation.
Ryan, accompanied by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, headed to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to discuss another go at an Obamacare repeal bill with Vice President Mike Pence and other White House officials, according to reports.
Trump administration officials and lawmakers met Tuesday night to hash out details on another attempt to repeal and replace Obamacare after their first attempt at a bill failed to get a vote late last month when it became clear it wouldn’t get enough support to pass.
Earlier in the day both Ryan and McCarthy signaled that any passing any sort of healthcare legislation would be a long-term goal, not one that would be passed this week before lawmakers head out of town for a two-week recess.
In an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Wednesday, Ryan said, “we’ve got a couple months at least” until a new push to pass healthcare legislation. He added: “We’ve gotten pretty far in coming together,” but that he thinks “we’re not there yet” and developing a compromise that would gain the support of enough Republicans.
When the first bill failed to get a vote, it was due in part to opposition from members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus.
Meanwhile, McCarthy said that he was “highly confident” such a bill would pass Congress this year and get President Trump’s signature. He didn’t provide a time, but did note a bill is “closer than it is further away.”
