During a lunch meeting at the White House Wednesday between President Donald Trump and Republican senators who met to come to a consensus on an Obamacare repeal bill, Trump joked about Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) wanting to “remain a Senator.”
“The other night I was very surprised when I heard a couple of my friends, they really were and are, they might not be for very much longer,” Trump said, drawing laughs from the group of Senators.
“Well no, you didn’t go out there,” he said, pointing toward Heller. “This is the one we were worried about. … Look he wants to remain a senator, doesn’t he?”
Heller reacted with a surprised expression that turned to a smile as the President explained how he knows the people of Heller’s state “really well” and said he’s sure they will “appreciate” what Heller will “hopefully do” with Obamacare.
The comment comes after a pro-Trump group called America First Policies released a critical television advertisement in Heller’s home state after the Republican senator said he was opposed to the health care plan that majority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) unveiled in June.
The ad ran for fewer than 12 hours and the group pulled it from airwaves after Heller “decided to come back to the table to negotiate with his colleagues” on the Senate health bill, according to statement from the group.
Watch the video below:
President Trump warns Senator Heller over health care defection: "He wants to remain a senator, right?" https://t.co/6HAjzjpwdZ
— NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) July 19, 2017
