REUTERS-U.S.
Republican leaders on Wednesday laid out plans for repealing Obamacare by
spring, followed by funding the building of a border wall and reforming
the tax
code by late summer, as lawmakers launched an effort to unify behind a
legislative strategy.
But
Republicans gathered in Philadelphia for a three-day retreat showed little
fervor for President Donald Trump's calls to investigate what he believes was
large-scale voter fraud in the Nov. 8 election.
On Wednesday
night, several hundred protesters crammed into the street near the hotel where
Trump is scheduled to speak to congressional Republicans on Thursday to
demonstrate against his agenda.
"Philly
hates Trump!" and "No hate, no fear, refugees are welcome here,"
were among the demonstrators' chants.
Police said
they were expecting a larger turnout of protesters on Thursday when both Trump
and Vice President Mike Pence address the Republican gathering.
Trump said on
Wednesday he would seek a voter fraud probe, although there is overwhelming
consensus among state officials, election experts and politicians that such
fraud is rare in the United States.
At the
closed-door retreat, House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan laid out a plan
of legislative action including repeal of the Affordable Care Act, former
President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law known as Obamacare, by March
or April, followed by appropriations for a border wall with Mexico and
overhauling the tax code by August, one Republican source said.
Republicans
have majorities in both the House and Senate.
A senior House
Republican, Representative Diane Black, said key House committees would take
votes within the next two weeks on draft legislation to repeal the Affordable
Care Act.
“Then we
expect that probably toward the latter part of February, or the first part of
March, that we should be ready to go with the final reconciliation bill” to
repeal Obamacare, she told reporters.
Representative
Chris Collins, a New York Republican who was an early Trump backer, said on
MSNBC that lawmakers were told at the retreat that they would write legislation
"in the next two months" to help pay for the border wall that Trump
signed directives to build.
On the issue
of tax reform, Ryan, speaking to MSNBC, said: “Our goal is to get this done by
the end of summer, which is for Congress quite fast.”
While there is
Republican enthusiasm about the idea of swift action against Obamacare and on
taxes, the challenge for Trump and congressional Republicans will be getting
lawmakers to coalesce around specific plans.
'THE
ELECTION'S OVER WITH'
Trump won in
November because he secured the most votes in the state-by-state Electoral
College system, but he lost the popular vote to Democrat Hillary Clinton by
nearly 3 million ballots. Irked by that large figure, he has blamed voter
fraud, without citing evidence, and called for an investigation.
Senator John
Thune of South Dakota, chair of the Senate Republican Conference, saw little
need for a probe.
"I’ve not
seen any evidence to that effect, but if they want to take that issue up,
that’s a decision obviously that he can make," Thune told reporters.
"All I
can say is what I’ve said before, and that is that we’ve moved on, the
election’s over with, we had a decisive winner in our constitutional system,
and we’re ready to go to work," he said.
U.S.
Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington state, chair of the
Republican conference in the House of Representatives, took a wait-and-see
attitude toward Trump's demand for a probe.
“It’s very
important that people have confidence in the elections and the outcome of those
elections. And I’ll wait until I see more of what he’s proposing before I
comment on what his action is going to be," she said.
British Prime
Minister Theresa May will also join lawmakers in Philadelphia on Thursday and
is expected to discuss plans for a possible U.S.-U.K. trade deal.
REUTERS
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