The push for another vote on the nearly universally despised Obamacare repeal bill is annoying House Republicans who don’t care if Trump gets any legislation passed in his first 100 days.
This little gem was in the Politico Playbook on Friday, “The White House is hungry for a legislative victory in its first 100 days. Internally, the WH thinks the 100-day construct is dumb, but they also know everyone is bought into it. The Hill, on the other hand, isn’t terribly concerned with Trump’s 100 days. Both the Hill and White House want to keep the government open come next Friday, and they would like to pass a health-care bill. But the urgency on health care is a White House-driven effort — and it’s annoying many senior House Republicans.”
House Republicans learned their lesson after the American Health Care Act crashed and burned. Politically speaking, they don’t want to go near health care until after the 2018 midterms, but Trump’s ego has been bruised and he needs a legislative accomplishment, so health care legislation has devolved into a test of wills within the Republican Party. Trump keeps promising votes that are unlikely to happen, and House Republicans are getting more annoyed by a White House that keeps pushing to make a move that cost them at the polls.
Trump and Ryan are not working well together. The proof is in the lack of legislative results.
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House and Senate Republicans aren’t listening to Trump, and they don’t care what he wants.
Donald Trump is working in a culture where his power is limited, and he isn’t the boss. Trump has few friends in the Republican Congressional majority, and if their survival in 2018 becomes a choice between sticking with Trump or winning, they’ll toss this president under the bus in a millisecond.
When Democrats divided before the 2010 midterms, they lost the House. Republicans are deeply divided from this White House, which is adding to a climate that is increasingly favoring Democrats in 2018.
No matter what they say in public, Trump’s first 100 days have been a disaster for the Republican Party.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
