Trump Slams Rand Paul As “Negative Force” On Fixing Healthcare; Paul Immediately Responds
by Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge.com
Sep 20, 2017
Now that hopes for a bipartisan deal to fix Obamacare are dead and the Republicans are pushing on with a last-minute scramble to repeal Obamacare ahead of a Sept. 30 legislative deadline in hopes third time will be the charm, on Wednesday morning just after 8am, President Trump slammed Sen. Rand Paul for being a “negative force” on health care.
“Rand Paul is a friend of mine but he is such a negative force when it comes to fixing healthcare. Graham-Cassidy Bill is GREAT! Ends Ocare!” Trump tweeted adding “I hope Republican Senators will vote for Graham-Cassidy and fulfill their promise to Repeal & Replace ObamaCare. Money direct to States!”
Previously Paul had called the bill from Senators Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy “ObamaCare lite” and said he wouldn’t support it. The Graham-Cassidy bill seeks to give more power to states by converting money currently spent on ObamaCare’s subsidies and Medicaid expansion into a block grant to states.
Paul wasted no time in responding to Trump’s accusation, and just moments later responded that “#GrahamCassidy is amnesty for Obamacare. It keeps it, it does not repeal it. I will keep working with the President for real repeal.”
According to the Hill, earlier this week, Paul expressed concern that the Republicans’ latest attempt to repeal ObamaCare might pass.
“There’s a big groundswell of people pushing for this,” Paul told Reporters on Monday. “Two weeks ago, I’d have said zero [chance it’ll pass], but now I’m worried.”
He said the bill “does not look, smell or even sound like repeal” and “I’m kind of surprised this has been resurrected because I don’t think it has been fully thought through.” He also said the bill exists “mostly to take money from four Democratic states and redistribute it to Republican states.”
However, just like during the last two failed attempts to repeal Obamacare, it will not be up to Paul but senators John McCain and Lisa Murkowski who will decide the fate of the Republicans latest ObamaCare repeal effort. The two were among the three Republicans, along with Sen. Susan Collins who sunk the last GOP effort to repeal ObamaCare.
With Paul saying he is voting no and Collins thought to be a likely opponent, the bill would need both McCain and Murkowski to vote yes to pass.
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