Following the failed attempt at a “skinny repeal” of the Affordable Care Act in the Senate, President Trump took to Twitter to complain about the unfairness of the Constitution and suggest that the Senate move to a simple majority in order to pass legislation, despite not even having that many votes for the “skinny repeal.”
Where the healthcare debate goes from here is anyone’s guess, though with people in Congress blaming the President, the President blaming Congress, and everyone blaming Mitch McConnell, the repeal ship may have sailed after all these years of Republicans struggling under the crushing yoke of Obamacare.
Former President Obama, speaking through his spokesperson Kevin Lewis, is hopeful that Congress can work on bipartisan reforms to his legacy healthcare law.
The ACA is “bigger than politics — it’s the character of our country,” Lewis said in a statement before citing some Obamacare statistics about the number of people insured and how the act improved conditions in hospitals. “It’s about the dreams protected, and the untold misery and ruin prevented.”
Lewis then congratulated all of the people who protested and organized to keep the bill on the books. He concludes:
“The Affordable Care Act has made American stronger and healthier, but there will always be more work to do. President Obama has always said we should build on this law, just as members of both parties worked together to improve Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid over the years. President Obama still believes that it is possible for Congress to demonstrate the necessary bipartisanship and political courage to keep delivering on the promise of quality, affordable health insurance for every American.
President Obama has been relatively quiet on the healthcare front, though last month, he made a statement in opposition of the “fundamental meanness” of the Senate’s bill.
You can read the full statement from Obama’s spokesperson below.
JUST IN: Statement from Kevin Lewis, Spokesperson to President Barack Obama pic.twitter.com/JROlNgrX2Z
— NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) July 28, 2017
(Via NBC News)