Spicer Insists Senate O’Care Bill Won’t Affect Medicaid Recipients

White House press secretary Sean Spicer waits for the start of a bill signing event for the "Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017," in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, June 23, 2017. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
White House press secretary Sean Spicer waits for the start of a bill signing event for the "Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017," in the East Room of the White Hous... White House press secretary Sean Spicer waits for the start of a bill signing event for the "Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017," in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, June 23, 2017. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Friday insisted that Senate’s freshly unveiled Obamacare repeal bill would not affect anyone currently enrolled in Medicaid and said that President Donald Trump was “very supportive” of the legislation.

“I think that the President’s very supportive of the Senate bill,” Spicer said at a press briefing Friday. “There’s a lot of ideas in there. He’s talked about having heart and he likes a lot of the reforms that have been in there. He’s committed to making sure that no one who currently is in the Medicaid program is affected in any way, which is reflected in the Senate bill and he’s pleased with that. So I think he’s very pleased with that bill.”

Trump pledged frequently on the 2016 campaign trail that he would not make cuts to Medicaid. Senate Republicans’ bill would make dramatic cuts to Medicaid, however, deeper than those in the House Republicans’ Obamacare repeal bill. It would roll back Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion and limit the federal government’s Medicaid payments to the states to per capita reimbursements, the rates of which would then be gradually lowered through 2025.

Asked later in the briefing if Trump was “comfortable with the changes to the Medicaid program in the Senate bill,” Spicer doubled down.

“I think right now he’s very supportive of the current bill,” Spicer responded. He later reiterated Trump’s support for the Senate bill multiple times.

On Thursday, deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders had referenced Trump’s comments that the Senate bill was a “negotiation” and said that “I don’t believe that the President has specifically weighed in that it’s right to cut Medicaid.”

Latest Livewire

Notable Replies

  1. This is one of those times having a morsel of credibility would really help you do your job, punk.

  2. Avatar for ghost ghost says:

    Dear dog, Sean, do you not know that people can read?

  3. Oceania has always been at war with Eurasia.

  4. It doesn’t matter what the topic is, Spicey opens his mouth and lies just spew forth.

    Drumpfie’s delusional world must be contagious ---- or Spicey has now given up all hope of redemption. He’s gonna go down with this ship, no matter what.

    Sad.

  5. But not the people who would vote for his boss

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

89 more replies

Participants

Avatar for ghost Avatar for charliee Avatar for mattinpa Avatar for theod Avatar for trnc Avatar for economides Avatar for steviedee111 Avatar for teenlaqueefa Avatar for sniffit Avatar for lastroth Avatar for go2goal Avatar for kitty Avatar for leftcoaster Avatar for dnl Avatar for darrtown Avatar for cincypix Avatar for tena Avatar for jonney_5 Avatar for tiowally Avatar for alana Avatar for mlynch531 Avatar for katscherger Avatar for centralasiaexpat Avatar for covfefe

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: