WASHINGTON (AP) — “Not any longer.”
And with that, a triumphant Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell appeared to close the book Tuesday on a divisive Republican debate, convincing President Donald Trump to shelve plans to replace the Affordable Care Act until after the 2020 election.
“I made it clear to him that we were not going to be doing that in the Senate,” McConnell told reporters.
It was a rare public disclosure of private counsel from the Republican leader. And it signaled that, after two years in Trump’s Washington, Republicans on Capitol Hill are figuring out how to handle the president and his impulsive swerves on policy.
Trump insisted Tuesday it was his idea to switch course.
“I wanted to delay it myself,” Trump said during an event at the White House. “I want to put it after the election.”
Facing a court deadline, Trump seized on health care last week, backing a lawsuit seeking to strike down the Affordable Care Act. Trump’s motivations were as political as they were legislative. He didn’t want to cede the issue again in the 2020 campaign, according to a person familiar with the conversations who was not authorized to speak publicly.
“We’re going to keep the presidency, and we’ll vote in the best health care package we’ve ever had,” he said...
