President Trump has withdrawn plans to bring a Republican replacement for the Affordable Care Act after Sen. Mitch McConnell warned him that the Senate would not revisit health care before the elections in November 2020.
Mr. Trump said his party would not introduce a health care plan of its own, which he had promised, until after the elections. This means he will be able to fulfill his first-term promise to replace and repeal his predecessor’s signature program if he is elected for a second term.
On Monday night, the president announced the reversal of plan on Twitter after discussing with McConnell. He assured that health care will take a central place in next year’s campaign, which escalates a problem Democrats consider one of their strengths.
On Tuesday, McConnell said, “I made it clear to him that we were not going to be doing that in the Senate. He did say, as he later tweeted, that he accepted that and that he would be developing a plan that he would take to the American people during the 2020 campaign.”
Trump’s last attempt to replace Obamacare program blew up in 2017 when his administration controlled both houses of Congress. In last year’s midterm elections, Democrats seized the House to defend the most popular parts of the Affordable Care Act. And when Trump revived the issue last week, it caused distress among Republicans who said it a political liability.
The president had surprised allies when he ordered his administration to ask a federal court to overturn the entire Affordable Care Act, promising a Republican replacement.
Democrats, consumers, hospitals, doctors, and insurers have said that more than 20 million people in the United States could lose health coverage if courts accept the argument of Trump’s administration.
McConnell said, “I pointed out to him the Senate Republicans’ view on dealing with comprehensive health care reform with a Democratic House of Representatives.” Hours later, Trump wrote on Twitter, “The Republicans are developing a really great HealthCare Plan with far lower premiums (cost) & deductibles than ObamaCare.”
