Trump administration presses Republicans to back health bill
WASHINGTON — From both sides of the Atlantic, President Donald Trump and other administration officials lobbied Republicans Friday to support the Senate GOP's reworked health care bill, with the president saying wavering senators "must come through" to keep the measure from collapsing.
But the bill, repealing much of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, hovered near failure as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell strained to keep more Republicans from deserting.
Complicating the effort, Ohio GOP Gov. John Kasich called the revised measure "still unacceptable," largely because of its cuts to Medicaid, the same concern that's been voiced by holdout Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman.
McConnell, R-Ky., released the measure Thursday, a plan that caps seven years of his party's promises to obliterate Obama's 2010 law. But two GOP senators immediately said they'd vote "no" on a crucial vote planned for next week.
Facing uniform Democratic opposition, a third Republican defection would sink it — a reality not lost on Trump.
"After all of these years of suffering thru ObamaCare, Republican Senators must come through as they have promised!" the president tweeted from Paris, where he was attending Bastille Day ceremonies.
Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., was also targeted as top administration officials were talking to his state's GOP Gov. Brian Sandoval. Republicans consider winning over the popular Sandoval a key to gaining Heller's vote.
In an interview Friday, Sandoval said his initial understanding of McConnell's new bill was that it "really doesn't change the dynamic" about its Medicaid cuts, and "that's a big concern for me."
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