White House set to blame Ryan if health bill doesn’t get passed on Friday
In public, President Donald Trump is standing by House Speaker Paul Ryan over the Obamacare replacement bill. Behind the scenes, the president’s aides are planning to blame Ryan if there is an embarrassing defeat on a bill that has been a Republican goal for more than seven years, a senior administration official said. The House is expected to vote on Friday afternoon on the health bill, which is opposed by all Democrats and may not enjoy enough support among either conservative or moderate Republicans. The conservative House Freedom Caucus negotiated several changes to the bill to win over its members. On Thursday, Trump’s senior strategist took the unusual step of traveling to Capitol Hill to deliver an ultimatum: take the vote on Friday, win or lose. Ryan had sought to carefully build a majority for the bill, and it would be highly unusual for him to call the vote without knowing if it would pass. Little choice Ryan had little choice but go along with the administration’s gambit....
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