On Tuesday, Donald Trump held a closed-door meeting with House Republicans to drum up support for Trumpcare. He reportedly told the group that it’s make-or-break time, and if they don’t repeal and replace Obamacare, they could lose their seats in the 2018 election. The House is expected to vote on the bill this Thursday, and even if it passes, rougher waters may lie ahead in the Senate. Naturally, Trump doesn’t want to be held responsible for the GOP dropping the ball, so he’s using his negotiating skills.
One of those tactics involves job security as mentioned above. As Republican town hall meetings have recently shown, crowds of people aren’t happy that Obamacare is getting the boot. Yet after the House GOP meeting, Trump told reporters that the bill has enough votes to pass:
“I think we’ll have a winner vote. We’re going to have a real winner. It was a great meeting, these are terrific people, and they want a tremendous healthcare plan, and that’s what we have but there are going to be adjustments made, but I think we’ll get the votes on Thursday.”
Republicans seem to be acutely aware of this pressure, as Senator Ted Cruz said if Trumpcare doesn’t get passed, the GOP will become a “laughingstock.” However, despite a hasty rollout and some gloomy analysis from the White House on how up to 26 million people will lose health coverage, House Speaker Paul Ryan remains optimistic. Trumpcare has been a passion project for Ryan, who dreamed of taking away people’s healthcare ever since he was a beer-chugging frat boy. Ryan may want to tap the keg, as his fantasy may soon become a reality.