President Donald Trump is done talking, and will not wait a day longer. He has given his Republican allies in Congress a huge ultimatum: vote on the Obamacare replacement bill today- no more delays and postponements. He wants a vote, whether it's a yes or a no for the American Health Care Act.
President Trump has dedicated the past week meeting and negotiating with Republican lawmakers at the Oval office to unify the seemingly two different factions in his party who disagree on their stand on the replacement bill for Obamacare.
Trump was hoping his party mates will be able to fix their problems and win the vote on Thursday. After all, repealing and replacing Obamacare was a top campaign promise of Trump and the Republicans. The Republicans have collectively criticized Obamacare during the campaign as too intrusive and too expensive. Trump called it a disaster.
Speaker Paul Ryan and leaders of the House of Representatives had to postpone yesterday a vote on their healthcare bill. The vote on Thursday would have been symbolic as it falls on the anniversary of Obamacare which former president Barack Obama signed in 2010. There are speculations that the Republicans did not have enough votes to claim a victory, that is why they postponed the voting. Passing the bill could have given President Trump his first legislative victory.
There have been some disagreements among Republicans over the health care replacement bill. Conservatives felt the bill did not really go far enough to repeal Obamacare. Moderates within the party, on the other hand, felt the plan could hurt their constituents. But there have been adjustments and changes made to accommodate the different views of opposing Republicans.
Speaker Paul Ryan expressed confidence that they will still be able to pass the bill on Friday. He said they have to keep their promise of repealing and replacing Obamacare which he described as a broken law. He said Obamacare is collapsing and it is failing families.
Rep. Chris Collins of New York, a top Trump ally, said that the President has given instructions that he wants a vote on Friday. He said either way the voting goes, the President will be ready. If they lose, Trump is said to be ready to move on to his other legislative priorities like tax reforms.
source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-obamacare-idUSKBN16U14Q
