Trump’s Cabinet Fractured Over Obamacare Push

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 26: U.S. President Donald Trump leaves after a Senate Republican weekly policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol March 26, 2019 in Washington, DC. Congressional top Democrats have demanded Attorney... WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 26: U.S. President Donald Trump leaves after a Senate Republican weekly policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol March 26, 2019 in Washington, DC. Congressional top Democrats have demanded Attorney General William Barr to release special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation report for the alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) MORE LESS
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President Donald Trump’s Cabinet is not united behind the decision to go after Obamacare, with HHS Secretary Alex Azar and Attorney General William Barr — who now has to lead the charge — staunchly against the abrupt policy move.

According to a Tuesday Politico report, acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney is one of the primary driving forces behind the push to repeal it.

Azar reportedly thinks that the lack of Republican replacement plan makes the move fruitless, while Mulvaney thinks it will goad Congress into action.

Azar’s spokeswoman, Caitlin Oakley, contradicted Politico’s reporting in a statement.

“Secretary Azar fully supports the Administration’s litigation position in the ACA case, which bears his name,” she said.

The decision also puts congressional Republicans in a tough place, since many of them don’t actually support a full repeal of the law.

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Notable Replies

  1. Oh, they’ll be covered by taxpayers.

  2. with HHS Secretary Alex Azar and Attorney General William Barr — who now has to lead the charge — staunchly against the abrupt policy move.According to a Tuesday Politico report, acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney is one of the primary driving forces behind the push to repeal it.

    The obvious next move is to put Mulvaney in as AG. Can Barr do WH COS, or is his job done?

  3. President Donald Trump’s Cabinet is not united behind the decision to go after Obamacare, …
    They know a loosing proposition when they see one
    There is no plan
    They know there’s no plan
    They never had any intention of creating a plan
    The only plan they had was Fuck the poors, which anyone with a functioning brain cell knows does not play well as an election platform.
    But Dumb ass Donnie will persevere because reasons

  4. Obamacare has become quite popular since Trump’s first assault, but its shortcomings are real. I think Democrats ought to compare and contrast Obamacare with some more advanced version of universal healthcare, maybe Medicare for all. Let Trump try to rally the declining older generation while the millennials rush to the Democrats. This should be a real push for a Democratic policy, not a retread Heritage Foundation republican policy.

  5. The ACA is here to stay. The Rethugs are sh*tting green nickels on this because the Dem House has already introduced ACA 2.0 which is brings up more gradual improvements to the already existing law. This, I think, has a more broad appeal to the public. But, now Rump wants the whole thing scuttled because - reasons. And they look more extreme than the Democrats.

    This just enhances the fact that Rethugs have no policy issues to run on for '20. None. Just like with '18.

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