Instead of letting Obamacare die as Trump suggested, Senate Republicans have defied Trump and announced that they would be holding hearings on how to stabilize the insurance marketplace.
Here is the statement from HELP committee chairman Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN):
What you are seeing is Senate Republicans beginning to lay the groundwork for the bipartisan legislation that will make Obamacare stronger.
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Sen. Alexander’s announcement is interesting because it came hours after Trump said, “I’ve been saying that — Mike, I think you’ll agree — for a long time. Let Obamacare fail. It will be a lot easier. And I think we’re probably in that position where we’ll just let Obamacare fail.”
Obama told Democrats not to bail out Republicans on health care as he was leaving office, and Democrats take his advice. Trump tells Republicans to let Obamacare die, so they schedule hearings to work on policies to strengthen the marketplace.
Barack Obama was a president who had real influence with his congressional caucuses. Donald Trump has no sway with Republicans. In fact, they are ignoring what he says and are doing the opposite.
Republicans are planning for the stand alone repeal bill to fail and to begin work on bipartisan legislation. After falling flat on their faces, Republicans will do what they always should have done, and work with Democrats on healthcare.
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
