Pence Rallies GOP Lawmakers Toward Repeal, But Disagreements Over Strategy Emerge
As Republicans move toward their long-desired repeal of President Barack Obama's signature health law, Vice President-elect Mike Pence holds meetings on Capitol Hill. Meanwhile, the rank and file try to reach consensus on dismantling a law that impacts the nation's $3 trillion health sector and covers millions of Americans.
The Los Angeles Times:
Republicans Offer No Plan To Repeal Obamacare As More Party Members Express Concern
After demanding for six years that the Affordable Care Act be gutted, Republican leaders refused Wednesday to outline concrete steps to repeal and replace it, even as members of their party voiced growing reservations about rolling the law back without a viable alternative. (Levey and Mascaro, 1/4)
Politico:
GOP Airs Obamacare Divisions In Pence Meeting
Republicans are fast-tracking the process of repealing Obamacare, aiming to get it done in several weeks. But they’re not even close to agreement about what comes next — or even when the repeal should take effect. Those disagreements spilled over Wednesday at a closed-door meeting with Vice President-elect Mike Pence that had been intended to unify the Senate GOP. Instead, multiple senators stood up to express concern that the party’s plans to repeal and replace the law could blow massive holes in the budget, according to a source familiar with the exchange. (Haberkorn and Everett, 1/4)
The New York Times:
Senate Republicans Open Fight Over Obama Health Law
Congress opened for battle over the Affordable Care Act on Wednesday as Republicans pushed immediately forward to repeal the health care law and President Obama made a rare trip to Capitol Hill to defend it. The bitterness that has long marked the fight intensified as Republicans seized the opportunity to make good on a central campaign promise to get rid of the law, a pledge reinforced on Wednesday by Vice President-elect Mike Pence, who met with House Republicans not far from where the president gathered with Democrats. (Kaplan and Thrush, 1/4)
The Associated Press:
Obama, Pence Harden 'Obamacare' Battle Lines At Capitol
Outnumbered in the new Congress, Democrats didn't sound confident in stopping the Republicans cold but signaled they wouldn't make the GOP's job any easier. New Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said that if the Republicans do scuttle the health care law, they will have to come up with a replacement plan before Democrats consider whether to help them revamp the system. That adds pressure on Republicans, who for years have battled among themselves over what a new law would look like, including how to finance its programs and whether to keep Obama's expansion of Medicaid for more lower-income people. (Fram, 1/4)