Donald Trump has told his fellow Republicans they must not go off on their summer holidays without sending him an Obamacare repeal bill to sign.
The president summoned Republican senators to the White House to give them his demands face-to-face, and they responded by vowing to revive legislative efforts left for dead twice already this week.
The meeting came as the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the Republican bill erasing but not replacing much of President Barack Obama’s health care law would mean an additional 32 million uninsured people by 2026.
I will be having lunch at the White House today with Republican Senators concerning healthcare. They MUST keep their promise to America!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 19, 2017
The report from Congress’ nonpartisan budget analyst said the measure would cause average premiums for people buying their own health insurance to double by 2026.
During last year’s presidential campaign Mr Trump had declared repeatedly it would be “so easy” to get rid of the Obama law.
On Tuesday the latest Republican health care plan collapsed in the Senate, leading Mr Trump himself to say it was time to simply let Mr Obama’s law fail.
The Republicans never discuss how good their healthcare bill is, & it will get even better at lunchtime.The Dems scream death as OCare dies!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 19, 2017
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had indicated he was prepared to move on to other issues including overhauling the tax system.
But in an apparent change of heart, in keeping with his erratic engagement on the issue, Mr Trump pressured Mr McConnell to delay the key vote until next week, and he invited Republican senators to the White House for lunch.
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