The divisions, coming on top of House Republicans’ inability to deliver on a priority they all share – repealing and replacing “Obamacare” – raised serious questions about whether they will be able to achieve their other legislative goals for the year or even pass must-do spending legislation in time to avert a government shutdown at midnight April 28.
However, investors on Wall Street worry the healthcare Bill’s defeat bodes poorly for tax reform. “We will continue to make improvements”.
Schumer spoke two days after House Republicans pulled their health care bill at the last minute to avoid a certain defeat. Conversations between the caucus and leadership did pick up pace as it became clear the bill was in trouble but by then it was too late. “If we can come up with resolution on a way to move forward, we’ll certainly entertain that”.
“To my Democrat colleagues who were celebrating Friday’s action, I think their celebration is premature because I think we’re closer today to repealing Obamacare than we’ve ever been before, and are surely even closer than we were Friday”, Scalise said.
After seven years of vowing to kill Obamacare, House Republicans on Friday abruptly withdrew their bill to repeal and replace the current health care law after determining they did not have enough support within their own party to pass it. Trump’s Bill was withdrawn because objections from members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus and from moderate Republicans left a shortage of votes needed for passage.
In a Twitter message, the USA president not only faulted the hardline Freedom Caucus and two other influential conservative groups for the stunning setback, he suggested they had weakened efforts to curb abortions, a touchstone conservative cause.
But on Sunday, Trump shifted to lay blame on the Freedom Caucus and outside conservative groups who opposed the legislation, including The Heritage Foundation and Club for Growth.
Mr. Trump criticized the conservative House Freedom Caucus for failing to support the administration-backed bill last week, saying they were allowing Obamacare to remain in place and permitting federal funding for Planned Parenthood.
“It doesn’t matter what the talking heads say about what the Freedom Caucus did”, said JoAnn Fleming, the executive director of Grassroots America and a veteran tea party leader in Texas.
“I think the president is disappointed in the number of people that he thought were loyal to him that weren’t”, Priebus told Fox’s Chris Wallace.
That’s why, in 2017, “there is the potential that this could be another failure for the party”, Darrell West, vice president and director of governance studies at the Brookings Institution, a Washington policy organization, said of big tax changes. “But I don’t think they’re headed in that direction, and they’re going repeat the same mistake they made on Trumpcare with tax reform”. The whole objective of the Freedom Caucus was that we weren’t called to the table.
“If he changes, he could have a different presidency”, Schumer said.
It’s called work, negotiating, cutting deals ensuring his signature campaign issue and legacy got passed before Democrats lost control of Congress, which they did in 2010! “But it’s going to be guided on our values”.
Asked if Republicans had indefinitely poisoned the well for tax reform or infrastructure – both agenda items Trump has said he’d like to tackle – Feinstein said “not necessarily if it’s done right”.
“Yes, this does make tax reform more hard”, he said. “And so we’re looking at those, where the fine balance is”.