Trump: GOP Repeal Bill Is ‘Inconsistent,’ To Be ‘Negotiated’

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By Robert Donachie

President Donald Trump thinks the GOP plan to “repeal and replace” Obamacare has many problems, but promises it’s up for negotiation in Congress.

The American Health Care Act (AHCA) is “very preliminary,” and a lot of aspects of the bill “aren’t consistent,” the president said Wednesday on Fox News’s “Tucker Carlson Tonight.” These inconsistencies are “going to be negotiated,” he said.

Bloomberg analysts published a report Tuesday showing that counties won by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stand to benefit more from the GOP plan than counties that supported Trump in the 2016 election.

Taxpayers in counties that backed Clinton are likely to see about $21.9 billion in tax cuts over the next decade. In contrast, counties that supported Trump will only see an estimated $6.6 billion returned to their pockets, according to analysis by Bloomberg analysts. (RELATED: Clinton Counties Stand To Benefit More From TrumpCare Than Trump Counties)

The president is not as concerned about the Bloomberg report as one might think. “We will take care of our people or I’m not signing it, OK? Just so you know. This is very preliminary,” Trump told Carlson.

WATCH:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahrcPMNAd14

There are 22 House Republicans wavering on the AHCA. Only 430 seats in the House are currently filled, of which 237 are Republican-held. For the AHCA to pass the House, it will need to get 216 votes.

It is not entirely clear how the 22 GOP representatives on the fence will vote. A preliminary poll by CNN reported that 19 Republican House members were leaning against the bill as it stands. Republicans can only afford to lose 21 vote for the bill to pass and get on its way to the Senate. If all 22 defect, it could mean the end of the AHCA. So far, the House Freedom Caucus is opposed, and that group votes as a bloc.