Still blistering over the latest defeat of Obamacare repeal, Trump on Saturday threatened to do away with health care subsidies that affect both the poorest Americans and Congress.
“If a new HealthCare Bill is not approved quickly,” Trump tweeted. “BAILOUTS for Insurance Companies and BAILOUTS for Members of Congress will end very soon!”
If a new HealthCare Bill is not approved quickly, BAILOUTS for Insurance Companies and BAILOUTS for Members of Congress will end very soon!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2017
The first part of his tweet is a reference to cost sharing reduction payments, subsidies that allow insurers to offset health-care costs for low-income Americans. Trump has threatened to withhold those subsidies before—a move that insurers and health care providers warn would destabilize the individual health insurance market and cause premiums to soar.
The second half of the missive indicates that Trump is going to continue to target his own GOP-controlled Congress for their inability to undo former President Obama’s signature achievement. Trump’s comment suggests he’d consider ending the employer contribution for health insurance currently provided to lawmakers.
The White House did not immediately respond to TPM’s requests for clarification.
Earlier Saturday, he accused Senate Republicans of “looking like fools” and urged them to abolish procedural rules like the filibuster immediately in order to make progress on healthcare.
In other words, Dump is more than willing to cut of someone else’s nose to spite someone else’s face. What a visionary! More presidential than Pol Pot!
If the pretender-in-chief were capable of introspection he would be the world’s leading authority on looking like a fool.
I wouldn’t do the first, but I would definitely do the second. Members of Congress can pay for their own health insurance premiums. I think people who make a $174,000 a year don’t need taxpayers subsidizing their health insurance.
The Bully of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue could well end up more than meeting his match by playing King of the Mountain with Congress.
He could have done this on January 20.
He didn’t do it then because everyone would know the Republicans had sabotaged the ACA into a true death spiral, and they wanted to find a less incriminating way to do it.
Turns out all of their efforts were incriminating, and now there’s no one left to do the deed but Trump himself.
The fact that he’s still not doing it, but reverting to Twitter threats instead, tells me he can’t do it now either.
Renaming Obamacare for himself may really be his only way out at this point.