Ryan: GOP disagreement over healthcare plan part of ‘growing pains’

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said the problems facing GOP leaders’ plans to repeal and replace ObamaCare are part of natural “growing pains” after retaking the White House. 

“We are going through typical growing pains from being an opposition party fighting Barack Obama, and [House Minority Leader] Nancy Pelosi, and [former Senate Democratic Leader] Harry Reid to a governing party,” Ryan said during an interview with Fox News’ Tucker Carlson.  

“And now we’re translating that legislation, that plan into a bill.”

Ryan has faced opposition from conservatives within the GOP and outside groups who are unhappy with the new healthcare plan and say leadership likely won’t get the votes needed.

{mosads}Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) snubbed the House bill as “ObamaCare lite” on Wednesday, claiming it will be “dead on arrival” in the Senate. He said he was working with Freedom Caucus members to produce a better repeal alternative that more closely aligns with the legislation conservatives supported in 2015. 

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) called the House plan a “beginning” but also suggested it wouldn’t pass the Senate.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said she is “not crazy” about proposal. 

Other Republicans expressed caution, saying the ObamaCare repeal and replace is moving too quickly. 

“I think we’re moving a little bit too quickly on healthcare reform,” Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “This is a big issue.”

And Freedom Caucus members in the House have voiced their opposition to some of the proposals, especially tax credits.

Despite the criticism, House leadership is pushing forward. 

Ryan told Carlson it’s impossible to get everything Republicans want into a bill, particularly under a special budgetary process known as “reconciliation” that allows legislation to pass with a simple majority.

“A lot of outside groups and folks just don’t understand the fact that if we put everything in the bill we possibly we want, we would have a filibuster, we wouldn’t be able to pass it in the Senate. So this bill, which is the first phase of a three-phase plan, is what we can pass without a filibuster in budget bill.”

When Carlson said that members of Congress would understand the requirements of a reconciliation bill, Ryan responded: “We’re finding that some don’t.”