Trump to GOP senators: The House health-care bill is 'mean'

At a White House lunch Tuesday, President Trump reportedly told 15 assembled Republican senators that the GOP health-care bill that passed the House last month was "mean." Trump instructed the senators to make their version of the bill "more generous," The Associated Press reports, citing two GOP congressional sources who were knowledgeable about the lunch. The president reportedly did not specify what aspects of the plan he was referring to.

Senate Republicans have been working to craft their own version of the American Health Care Act since the lower chamber passed the bill May 4. The proceedings have been delayed due to disagreements between Republican senators, however: While some more conservative members wish to add further restrictions to the bill, such as limiting the Medicaid program, more moderate senators have sought to lessen those efforts.

When the bill initially passed the House last month, Trump called it a "great plan" during a celebration in the Rose Garden. "What we have is something very, very incredibly well-crafted," Trump said.

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The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has estimated the House's version of the American Health Care Act would result in 23 million more people being uninsured by 2026 than ObamaCare. Read more about Republicans' fight to repeal and replace ObamaCare here at The Week.