Spicer: GOP Health Care Plan Will Get To Trump’s Desk And He Will Sign It

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer speaks in the press briefing room of the White House during the daily briefing on February 14, 2017 in Washington, DC. Photo by Olivier Douliery/Abaca(Sipa via AP Images)

During the White House press briefing on Thursday afternoon, Press Secretary Sean Spicer signaled that the administration is committed to the legislation to repeal and replace Obamacare unveiled by House leadership earlier this week.

“This bill will land on the President’s desk. He will sign it. We will repeal Obamacare and put in place a system patient-centered that will allow the American people to have greater choice and lower costs,” Spicer told reporters after several questions about what parts of the bill President Donald Trump is willing to have changed.

One reporter noted that some conservatives have been pushing for return to a 2015 repeal bill that was vetoed by former President Obama, but Spicer suggested the White House was not looking at any options other than the House leadership’s bill.

“I think the effort that’s going through right now is the vehicle that’s got—is what people are on board with,” he said.

The press secretary was also asked about Sen. Tom Cotton’s (R-AR) opposition to the House bill.

“Well, we’re going to engage,” Spicer said when first asked about Cotton’s qualms. “We’ll continue to talk to any senator that has questions or concerns or ideas.”

“No matter where you are, especially on the conservative side, you cannot possibly believe that the current health care system is an effective program,” Spicer added. “It is a monstrosity. It’s a government gone wrong.”

Asked about Cotton’s concerns that the House bill could make the American health system “worse than Obamacare,” Spicer said he “respectfully” disagreed and signaled openness to Cotton’s ideas for improvement.

“We’re not jamming this down people’s throat,” he insisted. “We’re welcoming ideas and thoughts. We think this is a great vehicle to restore a patient-centered health care bill to drive down costs. And I think Sen. Cotton clearly recognizes that the current version of health care out there right now is not sustainable. And so we welcome him—his input into this process.”

34
Show Comments

Notable Replies

  1. Shorter Spice: Trump will sign anything the GOP Congress sends to his desk, regardless of what the bill says.

  2. This is going to be so fun.

    /popcorn

  3. I hope it does. Maybe when they start dying or going bankrupt again white christian 'Murrica will finally have it’s moment of clarity and stop voting for people who quite literally do not care if they live or die.
    Tired of Dems fighting tooth and nail to try and help people who just turn around and kick them in the balls for it. After the last election, this snowflake is fresh out of sympathy, understanding or fucks to give, you get what you vote for Kentucky and the rest of Fox Nation … enjoy it.

  4. Avatar for bkmn bkmn says:

    That is a whole lotta BS and he knows it. Kellyanne Conjob is already saying “Don’t call it Trumpcare” because Trump
    knows this bill is not going to make it into law and he does not want his name attached. On top of that it looks like the GOP is fine with effectively doing nothing and allowing uncertainty over their plans to push insurers to drop out so they can claim the ACA was deeply flawed (yes it has flaws but it was not deeply flawed).

  5. “It’s a government gone wrong.”

    That’s different from what we have now: Government intentionally gone wrong.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

28 more replies

Participants

Avatar for system Avatar for austin_dave Avatar for littlegirlblue Avatar for jeffgee1 Avatar for marby Avatar for charliee Avatar for matthew1961 Avatar for wombat Avatar for bluinmaine Avatar for sniffit Avatar for okay Avatar for cd Avatar for longtimeobserver Avatar for pfusand Avatar for leftcoaster Avatar for darrtown Avatar for pshah Avatar for tena Avatar for bkmn Avatar for rickjones Avatar for dannydorko Avatar for tommcgee Avatar for demosthenes59 Avatar for supercopy

Continue Discussion