U.S.
President Donald Trump urged Republican senators in a tweet on Friday to repeal
Obamacare immediately if they cannot agree on a new plan to replace it,
muddying the
waters as congressional leaders struggle for consensus on
healthcare legislation.
Senate
Republican leaders had set Friday as the target for rewriting legislation for a
simultaneous repeal and replacement of extensive parts of the 2010 Affordable
Care Act, the law dubbed Obamacare that expanded health insurance coverage to
20 million people.
The deadline
seemed unlikely to be met given that most senators had left Washington ahead of
next week's recess, without agreement on a clear direction for the healthcare
bill, and Trump's tweet did not appear to gain political traction.
Financial
markets showed little reaction to Trump’s suggestion, with the benchmark
S&P 500 index edging about 0.15 percent higher on the day. Shares of most
health insurers gained fractionally while hospital stocks were little changed.
Trump wrote
on Twitter Friday morning, "If Republican Senators are unable to pass what
they are working on now, they should immediately REPEAL, and then REPLACE at a
later date!"
The White
House said later that Trump was still "fully committed" to pushing
the Republican draft healthcare bill through the Senate, although it was
looking at every option for repealing and replacing Obamacare.
"The
president hasn't changed his thinking at all," White House spokeswoman
Sarah Sanders told reporters.
The current
Senate legislation would repeal parts of Obamacare, roll back its expansion of
the Medicaid government healthcare program for the poor, eliminate most of
Obamacare's taxes and replace Obamacare insurance subsidies with a system of
tax credits to help individuals buy private health insurance.
Conservative
and moderate Republicans have spent recent days pushing and pulling the bill in
opposite directions as Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell sought common
ground. Moderates want more equity for low-income Americans, while
conservatives are fighting to loosen insurance regulations.
Shortly
before his January inauguration, Trump urged lawmakers to repeal and replace
Obamacare at the same time. Congressional Republicans had considered earlier
this year first repealing, then replacing Obamacare, but backed away after some
lawmakers protested that that approach could create a gap in insurance coverage
for millions.
On Friday,
Republican Senator Ben Sasse who had suggested that Congress first repeal
Obamacare and then replace it, tweeted: "Glad you agree, Mr. Pres."
Conservative Senator Rand Paul also backed the idea.
But others on
Capitol Hill sounded annoyed. A senior Senate Republican aide, speaking on
condition of anonymity, said that if lawmakers had been able to get the votes
for repealing Obamacare first, then replacing it, "senators would have
done that in January. It doesn't have the votes, and it's a waste of valuable
time to discuss it."
Annie Clark,
a spokeswoman for moderate Republican Senator Susan Collins, said the lawmaker
would not support the strategy. McConnell's spokesman declined to comment on
Trump's tweet.
A senior
House of Representatives Republican, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin
Brady, said in an interview for CSPAN's "Newsmakers" program that
lawmakers' goal should continue to be "not simply repealing but to start
to put into place the elements that can make healthcare affordable."
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