Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) admitted at a town hall Wednesday evening that the real reason Republicans weren't poised and ready to roll out a health-care plan is because they didn't think they would actually win the White House. "Look, I didn't expect Donald Trump to win, I think most of my colleagues didn't, so we didn't expect to be in this situation," Toomey said.
President Trump's unexpected win last November caught Republicans without even a blueprint in hand for how to pass legislation. In contrast, "eight years ago, Democrats had been planning for months for the possibility of full control of Congress and the White House" and had already "held meetings with key health-care industry stakeholders about early thoughts on what would become the Affordable Care Act," The Washington Post reported.
Toomey didn't try to deflect blame from Republicans, instead owning up to the fact that his party wasn't as prepared as it should've been. "I think that's a valid criticism," Toomey said.
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