Republicans face frustrated Trump ahead of health-care bill unveiling
President Trump said Wednesday he would be "very angry" if Senate Republicans don't pass their ObamaCare repeal and replacement, even as many senators have publicly confessed their pessimism over the new draft, which is to be released Thursday. "I am sitting in the Oval Office with a pen in hand, waiting for our senators to give it to me," Trump told CBN News in an interview. "It has to get passed. They have to do it. They have to get together and get it done."
In a party meeting Wednesday, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) was joined by Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) in expressing fury over the GOP's plans to scale back Medicaid while Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has said he can't support the bill because it is "the same as the old bill, except it leaves in place more taxes," Politico reports.
"Among the rotating cast of senators most likely to keep the bill shy of 50 votes, no one seemed to be softening — if anything, some opponents seem to be hardening," Axios writes.
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.