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President Donald Trump is demanding that Republicans fall in line and support a controversial healthcare bill, or see Obamacare remain in place.
Trump’s budget director, Mick Mulvaney, issued the president’s demand for a Friday vote in a Thursday evening meeting with House Republicans, according to a New York Times report. The vote had been scheduled for Thursday, but was postponed when it became apparent that the bill lacked the votes to pass. But Trump’s ultimatum may have worked – Huffington Post politics reporter Jennifer Bendery tweeted this morning that a vote is expected between 3:45 and 4:45 p.m. EST today.
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Trump’s health insurance overhaul has become a millstone about Republicans’ necks. Many in the party’s conservative wing have refused to support it, saying it was too expensive and didn’t do enough to eliminate federal health insurance mandates under Obamacare. Moderate GOP lawmakers, however, think the bill already goes too far in cutting health benefits. And, unsurprisingly, every Democrat opposes the bill.
Trump has attempted to negotiate with members of the far-right Freedom Caucus who oppose the bill. At a meeting on Thursday, he agreed to eliminate insurance requirements for benefits like maternity care, mental health and emergency services, according to the Times. But those concessions ended up gaining him no support from the bill’s right-wing detractors, while scaring even more moderates away. Faced with certain failure if the vote took place as scheduled, House leaders postponed it.
But Trump was adamant, sending senior officials to the Capitol to hand an ultimatum to Republicans: there would be a Friday vote, and Republicans would either have to support the bill – with no further changes – or leave Obamacare in place.
