President Donald Trump reiterated his go-to solution for Senate stalemates during an interview with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, saying Senate Republicans need to get rid of the filibuster rule.
“I thought that when I got to the Oval Office, I would have a bill sitting on my desk, repeal and replace, a beautiful health care bill, and it didn’t happen,” he said in a clip of the interview that was released Friday. The full interview premieres Saturday on Huckabee’s new show for the Trinity Broadcasting Network.
“But remember it didn’t happen because of a lot of Republicans and it happened, that horrible thing happened because of a few people, really a few people,” he said, referencing Republicans like Sens. John McCain (R-AZ), Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) who weren’t shy about their opposition to the Senate’s repeal and replace plans this summer and fall.
But Trump cast the real blame for the Senate’s failure to get rid of Obamacare on a filibuster rule that allows the minority party in the Senate to force a 60-vote threshold on new legislation.
“And the problem we have is we have 52 senators and they have to get rid of the absolutely crazy voting where you need 60, it’s called the filibuster rule it’s a disaster, ok? It’s a disaster for the Republicans. They have to get rid of it. If they don’t get rid of it, it’s just a death sentence,” he said.
However, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has said Trump’s calls to end the rule won’t work because there isn’t enough support in the Senate to change it. Getting rid of the filibuster likely wouldn’t help Republicans on health care anyway as they’ve failed to garner 50 votes on any repeal bill.
Watch the clip below:
