Trump tries to get Republican rebels on board after they vow to oppose healthcare bill in Senate vote
US President Donald Trump summoned all 52 Republican Senators to the White House after eight rebels vowed to oppose his healthcare overhaul.
ADVERTISEMENTA vote on the bill has now been delayed until after the July 4 holiday, when Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will have two weeks before the summer break to try to get the rebels on board.
It’s undoubtedly a setback to Trump’s plans to replace Obamacare.
“The status quo is simply unsustainable. It will be dealt with in one of two ways. Either Republicans will agree and change the status quo, or the markets will continue to collapse and will have to sit down with Senator Schumer and my suspicion is that in any negotiation with the Democrats would include none of the reforms that we would like to make both on the market side, and the Medicaid side,” McConnell told reporters.
With ZERO Democrats to help, and a failed, expensive and dangerous ObamaCare as the Dems legacy, the Republican Senators are working hard!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 27, 2017
Meanwhile Democrat Senate leader Charles Schumer was making it clear he’d be a tough person to negotiate with by holding a protest on the steps of Capitol building.
“These are the faces, the human toll, that Trumpcare would take on our country, on our citizenry, our great American people,” he said holding up photos of the sick and elderly.
Repealing Obamacare was a Trump pledge mainly due to its cost. But moderate Republicans have criticised its replacement for stripping protections for the poor and elderly.
Not one Democrat is in favour saying hundreds of thousands of Americans will die if the bill passes.
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ADVERTISEMENTHealth care is a right. Period.
— The Democrats (@TheDemocrats) June 27, 2017
Call & tell your Republican Senator not to vote yours away. https://t.co/u5smUlhN0spic.twitter.com/KwaDdqmefQ