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Trump Tells G.O.P. Senators Not to Be ‘Total Quitters’ on Health Bill - The New York Times

posted onJuly 30, 2017
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Article snippet: President Trump on Saturday scolded Congress for looking “like fools” and urged Republican senators not to be “total quitters” as he insisted that his push to overhaul the nation’s health care law remained viable, the day after it was rejected by the Senate. To reinforce his demand, the president threatened to cut lawmakers’ own health insurance plans if Congress failed to revive the flagging seven-year effort to roll back the medical care program of former President Barack Obama. It was the latest in a series of tweets he posted throughout the day, beginning shortly after 7 a.m., revealing how unsettled the president remains in losing a Senate vote to overhaul health care. One person familiar with his thinking said Mr. Trump was particularly focused on the unexpected defection of Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, who temporarily shelved cancer treatment in his home state and flew back to Washington to reject the president’s efforts with a dramatic thumbs-down vote. Mr. Trump is holding out hope that the Senate will return to health care in September, and bypass parliamentary obstacles to approve it by a simple majority, according to the person familiar with the president’s thinking, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Indeed, several of Mr. Trump’s tweets on Saturday criticized use of the Senate filibuster, including one that specifically targeted Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader. Republicans have 52 seats in the... Link to the full article to read more

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