The cost of failure on health care? It may be the rest of Trump's agenda.
By John Wagner and Abby Phillip March 15 at 6:00 AM
In the roiling debate over the plan to replace the Affordable Care Act, there’s a lot more at stake for President Trump than whether the bill can be saved: Its fate could also determine how much else he can get done on Capitol Hill in the early stages of his presidency.
With the bill facing strong resistance on multiple fronts, Trump’s effort to shepherd it through Congress is shaping up as a pivotal test of an unorthodox president’s ability to wield influence in Washington, a growing number of Republicans say.
A win on an issue as fractious as health care could serve as a rallying point for even tougher fights ahead, including some Trump agenda items that wouldn’t otherwise be GOP priorities and others that would likely require Democratic support.
But falling short on a marquee campaign promise — when both chambers are controlled by the president’s party — would almost certainly sap momentum for Trump’s agenda. Moreover, Republicans are counting on cuts from former president Barack Obama’s health-care law to make the budget math work on other Trump priorities, particularly major tax reductions.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/the-cost-of-failure-on-health-care-it-may-be-the-rest-of-trumps-agenda/2017/03/14/f502a846-08be-11e7-93dc-00f9bdd74ed1_story.html?utm_term=.5bc77c70494c&wpisrc=nl_politics&wpmm=1
