Trump Tries to Revive an Obamacare Repeal Gambit He Once Vetoed
With the Senate bill in doubt, the president suggests scrapping the law now and replacing it later. It won’t work, and it’s less a new strategy than an admission of defeat.
Shortly after the November election, Republican leaders came up with a plan for Obamacare: They would repeal the law quickly upon President Trump taking office, and then delay its enactment so they’d have time to develop a replacement.
The strategy became known as “repeal-and-delay,” and it was catching on with Republican lawmakers, particularly on the right, until it ran into a blockade led by two powerful men: Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky and soon after, Donald Trump.
“I just spoke to @realDonaldTrump and he fully supports my plan to replace Obamacare the same day we repeal it,” Paul on January 6. “The time repeal-and-replace “could be the same hour.”
