President Trump told Republican senators Tuesday that his exoneration by special counsel Robert Mueller has freed him to focus on his domestic agenda, and that he plans to make healthcare a priority.
“Clearly I think with the special counsel decision he feels certainly freed up to concentrate on a domestic agenda,” Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., said after Trump met privately with the Senate GOP in the Capitol. “He mentioned healthcare specifically.”
Trump, in a rare Capitol visit, appeared at ease during his address and talked about being able to start over, in a sense, Republicans said.
“He indicated he’s glad it was over and that he felt like he was vindicated and he’s grateful he was vindicated,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said.
The president’s visit occurred days after a four-page summary of the Mueller report cleared him of collusion with Russians during the 2016 election, ending a 22-month investigation.
Attorney General William Barr said there is not “sufficient” evidence to establish that Trump obstructed justice.
Democrats want the report released in full, and Trump told Republicans he is “fine with having it released,” but will leave it up to Barr, who is determining how much of it should be turned over to Congress.
Trump told Republicans he’s eager to move past the collusion investigation, which has been hobbling his administration since it began.
“I think he was appropriately relieved that his contention since right after the election, that there was no collusion, has now been verified,” Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., a member of the GOP leadership, said. “I think he felt great about that. And he talked about a wide range of issues and it seems like he was uniquely in command of those issues today.”
Trump told lawmakers he wants them to renew their effort to repeal and replace Obamacare, Kennedy said.
The GOP effort to reform the healthcare system failed in 2017, although Republicans managed to repeal the mandate to purchase insurance when they reformed the tax code last year.
Trump said Tuesday he wants the GOP to be “the party of healthcare,” following a move by the Department of Justice Monday to dismantle the law.
Trump told lawmakers he wants them to focus on lowering the cost of health insurance and ensuring the continuation of coverage for people with pre-existing conditions.
“He thinks it’s the one area where we’ve fallen short and he wants to see us address it,” Kennedy said. “He made it very clear. He spent a lot of time on health care.”
But Republicans have no immediate plans to tackle healthcare.
Blunt told reporters the Senate will likely wait until Obamacare challenges churn through the courts in order to determine how they will proceed with a new legislative approach to reforming healthcare.
“It’s really too early for us to know what the court is going to say,” Blunt said. “That is going to make a difference in how we might move forward.”
