After a bad healthcare bill was dropped in his lap President Trump might be happy if it fails
President Donald Trump and his team at the White House would be fine if Ryancare dies on the Hill today. He could then see bi-partisan support for a plan that can be crafted over the next few months as Obamacare would stay in place but needs repair.
This healthcare bill was never Trumps bill and he knows that his voters don’t like what many are calling Ryancare. Sure if it passes he will be around to work with the Senate to make a better deal.
Either way if it fails or passes, President Trump could come in later, he could then cut deals with all of the players from both inside and outside government. Every aspect of healthcare would be on the table and it would allow him to come into the process in a stronger position.
President Trump would meet with the American Medical Association, AARP, drug companies, hospital groups, insurance companies and other companies with a stake in the legislation. There would not be a repeal of Obamacare but President Trump could hang that on Ryan and Republican leadership.
Going in a bi-partisan direction after the bill fails allows President Trump could free himself from pleasing the ultra-conservative Freedom Caucus by having Democrats filling that voting void.
But If the bill fails as President Trump hopes that it does, the White House will quickly stick the blame on conservative Republicans for not repealing ObamaCare. President Trump will find help from others not Ryan to advance his campaign promises, and they could be Democrats. Ryan will be a non-factor at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, as well. Yes, markets will skid and worries will grow, but better to do it now on an issue Trump cares less about than later when the core of his policies – tax cuts and a trillion-dollar infrastructure stimulus package – are on the line.
So it the bill dies today on the floor of the House then over at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, look for more smiles than tears. President Trump will end today in a better position than he was when he woke up this morning.
