President Donald Trump on Wednesday will meet with two key House Republicans, Rep. Billy Long (R-MO) and Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), who said this week that they cannot support the Obamacare repeal bill, CNN reported Wednesday morning.
Long told CNN that he and Upton will meet with Trump and that the two House lawmakers are working on a new amendment to the American Health Care Act. Politico also reported that an amendment is in the works and that Trump would meet with Long and Upton on Wednesday.
Both Long and Upton surprised Republican leaders this week when they came out against the bill now that it would include a new amendment from Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-NJ). The amendment would allow states to apply for waivers from some Obamacare mandates.
Long, an ally of Trump, announced his opposition on Monday, saying that the “MacArthur amendment strips away any guarantee that pre-existing conditions would be covered and affordable.” The conservative group Club for Growth quickly attacked Long for opposing the bill.
Upton, a prominent Republican in the House who has worked on efforts to repeal Obamacare for years, came out against the bill on Tuesday, also citing the MacArthur amendment and concern about Americans with pre-existing conditions.
