Trump exhorts GOP to move on health overhaul

WASHINGTON — President Trump on Monday made a late-hour appeal to senators — targeting members of his own party — to move forward with debate over faltering Republican legislation to overhaul the Affordable Care Act.

“Any senator who votes against starting debate is telling America that you are fine with the Obamacare nightmare, which is what it is,” Trump said in an afternoon address from the White House on the eve of anticipated Senate vote that could spell defeat of the long-sought legislation.



Besides decrying the shortcomings of Obamacare, Trump touted what he described as the improvements that would come under the GOP legislation, including “far more choice and far more flexibility” in the insurance market, continuing coverage of preexisting conditions and “substantial resources” for fighting opioid addiction.

While Trump’s message was aimed squarely at Republicans, he also chided Senate Democrats for their refusal to support the legislation, which has proved highly unpopular in opinion polls.

Trump’s public efforts to dismantle the health care law have contrasted sharply with President Obama’s efforts to build support in advance of its 2010 passage.