Trump will use bully pulpit to counter conservative revolt over Obamacare replacement

By James Hohmann March 8 at 10:20 AM

THE BIG IDEA:

After appearing to project some ambivalence earlier in the day, President Trump came out strongly last night for the faltering House Republican plan to replace Obamacare. He told the group of about 20 lawmakers who will be charged with whipping up support for the legislation that he wants the Paul Ryan bill to be approved largely intact. He said he plans to become personally involved in persuading wavering lawmakers. And he warned that Republicans will suffer badly in the midterms if they fail to deliver on their campaign promises to get rid of the Affordable Care Act. One member who was in the private meeting told CNN that he even spoke of an electoral “bloodbath.”

Offering a taste of what’s to come, POTUS took to Twitter a few hours later to nudge Rand Paul, a 2016 rival for the GOP nomination who is now a potentially pivotal vote in the Senate:

Link to tweet

The Kentucky senator described the draft language, which will be marked up in committee hearings today, as “Obamacare Lite” and pronounced it “dead on arrival.”

The president is also trying to use carrots, not just sticks, stepping up outreach to other 2016 foes. Tonight he’s having dinner with Ted Cruz. Yesterday he lunched with Lindsey Graham. The South Carolina senator, as a gesture of goodwill, gave the president his new cell phone number. This is notable because, during a 2015 rally, Trump read Graham’s old number aloud to a crowd and asked people to call him.


more
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/daily-202/2017/03/08/daily-202-trump-will-use-bully-pulpit-to-counter-conservative-revolt-over-obamacare-replacement/58bfb74ee9b69b1406c75d4d/?utm_term=.6122e87aeddc&wpisrc=nl_daily202&wpmm=1