Less
than three weeks out from leaving the White House, Obama visited
Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill with a mission to save his
signature healthcare reform law as Republicans are moving quickly to
unroll the Affordable Care Act.
In
the closed-door meeting, the President urged fellow Democrats to not
"rescue" Republicans by helping them pass replacement measures,
according to sources in the room.
He also floated this idea: Start referring to the GOP's new plan as "Trumpcare."
The
suggestion was a clear indication of the Democratic Party's goal of
turning the tables on Republicans, who are already facing pressure to
quickly craft a replacement bill.
As
he walked by a scrum of reporters, Obama would only say this about the
Democratic Party's message: "Look out for the American people."
After
the meeting, a White House aide said Obama used "Trumpcare" as an
indication he was open to Trump taking credit for improvements.
The
feisty remarks from the outgoing President came as Republicans also
huddled on Capitol Hill Wednesday morning to chart their path forward
repealing Obamacare. Vice President-elect Mike Pence visited with GOP
lawmakers in what became a morning of dueling meetings on Day Two of the
new Congress.
Pence
told reporters following the meeting: "Make no mistake about it: We're
going to keep our promise to th with solutions that lower the cost of health insurance without growing the size of government."
The
public theater of the simultaneous meetings Wednesday was the clearest
indication in the new year that Obamacare will be an all-consuming and
deeply contentious political fight under the next president, Donald
Trump.
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