President Donald Trump Suggests Republicans Repeal then Replace Obamacare

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) (C) approaches the microphones before t
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Sean Moran

President Donald Trump suggested in a tweet that if Republicans remain unable to pass their current healthcare bill, they should immediately repeal and then replace Obamacare.

President Trump previously endorsed the Senate healthcare bill, otherwise known as the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA), however, since Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell delayed the vote on the BCRA President Trump has looked into other options. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) recently suggested repealing and replacing Obamacare in two separate bills, an idea that apparently President Trump might endorse if Republicans remain unable to pass the BCRA.

Sen. Paul said his proposal would divide the bill in two, Republicans would push for an Obamacare repeal bill which would pass with conservative support and another spending bill which would entice Democrats to support the measure.

The Kentucky senator explained, “So what I’ve come up with, and I talked to the president yesterday about this, is what about dividing the bill in two? Do the repeal, which no Democrat will vote for. Repeal the taxes, repeal the regulations, and do a fix to Medicaid that helps to pay for everything. No Democrats will vote for anything good like that. But Democrats will always vote for spending. So the big government Republicans that want more spending, take the spending and put it in the bill that Democrats will vote for.”

Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) concurred with Sen. Paul, arguing that Republicans should endorse a clean repeal of Obamacare. Sasse said in a letter to the White House, “On the current path it looks like Republicans will either fail to pass any meaningful bill at all, or will instead pass a bill that looks to prop up many of the crumbling Obama care structures.”

“We must keep our word. Therefore, if on July 10 we don’t have agreement on a combined repeal and replace plan, we should immediately vote again on H.R. 3762, the December 2015 Obamacare repeal legislation that the Congress passed but President Obama vetoed,” Sasse added.

Senator Paul revealed in a tweet on Friday that he has spoken to both President Trump and Senate leadership about splitting the bill in two, and suggested that Republicans should keep their word to repeal and replace Obamacare.

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