Search This Blog

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Trump warns Republicans ahead of healthcare vote

Trump warns Republicans ahead of healthcare vote
By Scott Wong - 03-21-17 10:07 AM EDT

President Trump issued a stern warning on Tuesday, telling Republicans they could lose their seats - and the House majority - in 2018 if they fail to repeal and replace ObamaCare, GOP sources said.

During a closed-door meeting in the basement of the Capitol, Trump told rank-and-file House Republicans if the party is not successful in passing its healthcare bill, "I believe many of you will lose in 2018," according to a source in the room.

The House is slated to vote on the American Health Care Act on Thursday. If it passes, it will head to the Senate, where it faces a tougher road.

Trump's visit to Capitol Hill was billed as a rally for the healthcare bill, just two days before the historic vote to roll back President Obama's signature domestic achievement. But the gathering took on a darker tone.

The president told lawmakers a failed vote would be embarrassing to the party and could result in members facing primary challengers and Republicans losing the House, sources said.

And Trump singled out House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), a Trump ally during the presidential campaign who opposes the legislation.

"I think Mark Meadows will get there too," Trump told the Freedom Caucus chairman, half-joking. "Mark, I'm coming after you."

Peter Sullivan, Lisa Hagen, Jonathan Easley and Cristina Marcos contributed.

Updated at 10:27 a.m.

No comments:

Post a Comment