President Donald Trump barged into Senate Republicans’ delicate health care negotiations, declaring that if lawmakers can’t reach a deal they should simply repeal “Obamacare” right away and then replace it later on.
Trump’s Friday tweet revives an approach that GOP leaders and the President himself considered but dismissed months ago as impractical and politically unwise. And it’s likely to further complicate Majority leader Mitch McConnell’s task as he struggles to bridge the divide between GOP moderates and conservatives as senators leave Washington for the Fourth of July break without having voted on a health care bill as planned.
“If Republican Senators are unable to pass what they are working on now, they should immediately REPEAl, and then REPlACE at a later date!” Trump wrote.