A spokesman for Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Wednesday indicated Ryan won’t support a bipartisan deal to stabilize the ObamaCare insurance markets as opposition to the proposal mounts.
“The speaker does not see anything that changes his view that the Senate should keep its focus on repeal and replace of Obamacare,” Doug Andres wrote in an emailed statement.
Trump also appeared to reverse earlier comments and now indicates he opposes the bill, though he stopped short of saying he would veto it. The legislation includes two years of funding compensating insurers for offering discounts to low-income ObamaCare enrollees, which some Republicans have decried as bailouts to insurance companies.
{mosads}Trump tweeted that he was “supportive” of Senate Health Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) — who brokered the deal with ranking member Patty Murray (D-Wash.) — and “also of the process” but that he would “never support bailing out” insurance companies.
The deal also would grant states more flexibility to waive ObamaCare’s rules and give $106 million to states for ObamaCare advertising.
The measure faced stumbling blocks in the House. Right after it was unveiled, the Republican Study Committee tweeted remarks from its chairman, Rep. Mark Walker (R-N.C.), opposing the bill and arguing it would prop up a failing law Republicans say they want to dismantle.