New York [U.S.A.], Mar. 21 : United States President Donald Trump warned House Republicans in a closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill that many of them might lose their seats, if the GOP health care bill was not passed.
"We won't have these crowds if we don't get this done," Trump said, as reported by CNN. "I honestly think many of you will lose your seats in 2018 if you don't get this done," he added. The message came a day after GOP leaders made few changes to the bill aimed at appeasing both conservatives and moderates who have expressed reservations about the bills.
But it's still not clear if those changes will be enough. Members of the House Freedom Caucus have announced that while they would not be taking an official stance against the bill, there were enough "no" votes among their group to sink the measure.
Trump specifically called out Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows, R-North Carolina, saying he thinks both Meadows and the group will get on board.
"A loss just isn't acceptable," he said. The President also said if the Freedom Caucus members don't come along they could face a primary. Earlier in the week, cautioning Republican lawmakers against being an obstacle in repealing Obamacare, the White House warned skeptics against abandoning their own party's healthcare plan saying that by doing so, they could end the dreams of ridding the country of the current health law.
A day after the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released an analysis showing the Republican plan could result in 24 million fewer insured Americans by 2026, White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters that the current plan is the "only vehicle" that can create a better health plan.
This came in the wake of developments indicating that Republican support for the health bill appeared to be fracturing, in the fear that they'll come under fire for supporting a plan that's estimated to reduce the number of insured.
As far as the amendments are concerned, many of them would make additional changes to Medicaid that were pushed by conservative members.
One addition would give the States the option of requiring able-bodied Medicaid recipients to work, participate in job training programs or do community service.
The legislation, called the American Health Care Act, would rewrite the current health care system and lead to millions of more people being uninsured than under Obamacare, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
As of Monday, senior Republicans were continuing to whip the GOP conference to ensure that they will have the 216 votes necessary to pass the bill out of the House on Thursday.
The bill will be taken up Wednesday by the House Rules Committee and set to be voted on by the House Thursday, also the seven-year anniversary of President Barack Obama signing the Affordable Care Act.
Source: ANI
