WASHINGTON — In a meeting with Republican senators involved in drafting a health care plan, President Donald Trump said Tuesday that “everyone’s going to be happy” with the outcome.
“The Senate is working very very hard, and specifically the folks in this room, and I really appreciate what you’re doing, to come out with a bill that’s going to be a phenomenal bill for the people of this country,” Trump said at the White House meeting.
A group of GOP senators are working on a plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act after the House passed their own version last month. If the Senate succeeds in approving a bill, it will then have to be reconciled with the House version before both chambers vote again on the final, compromise legislation.
Few details are known about the Senate plan since the working group is operating in secret and has suggested it will keep its proposal under wraps as long as possible.
But Trump pledged the bill would be “generous, kind, and with heart,” suggesting it may get “additional money” added to it.
Republican lawmakers have in the past chafed at Trump’s tendency to make promises about the timing and substance of legislation over which he has little control, and his statements Wednesday may be difficult to follow through on.
The House narrowly passed the American Health Care Act last month only after intense internal negotiations, and additional funding may turn off the House Freedom Caucus and other conservatives concerned about spending.
And with polls showing fewer than a third of Americans support the House plan, and Democrats pledging all-out opposition to the Senate bill, it seems unlikely that everyone will be pleased.
Later Tuesday, Trump traveled to Wisconsin where he lamented that Democrats would likely never vote for the GOP health care plan because they were more focused on blocking his agenda.
"No matter how good it is, we will get no obstructionist Democrat votes," Trump said after landing in the state for an event.
