Trump Says He’ll Work With Democrats on Healthcare

After Senate GOP leaders have ceded their own push to dismantle the ACA, Donald Trump stated that he would continue his pressure on healthcare, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The president stated that his plan is to negotiate with Democrats on the healthcare issue, as the latest plan failed to gain the sufficient support in the Senate. Republicans cannot lose more than two GOP votes in order to pass the bill, which all Democrats were expected to oppose. By Monday evening, three GOP senators had already claimed that they would vote against the bill: Susan Collins of Maine, John McCain of Arizona and Rand Paul of Kentucky.

The Graham-Cassidy bill would have derailed the ACA, also known as Obamacare, and given significantly more control over healthcare to the states. It also would have made significant funding cuts to the Medicaid program for poor and disabled Americans.

Trump stayed firm on his position on Wednesday that the Republicans “have the votes” to approve healthcare legislation but couldn’t proceed because a senator is in the hospital. There were no senators in the hospital on Wednesday. Senator Thad Cochran was treated for a urological issue recently and is recovering at home in Mississippi.

“I’m not hospitalized, but am recuperating at home in Mississippi and look forward to returning to work soon,” Cochran said on Twitter Wednesday.

Trump predicted that Republicans would hold a vote on healthcare early next year. GOP leaders said this week that they were moving on to the tax overhaul but would seek to revisit healthcare.

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