Trump regrets putting ObamaCare repeal on top of agenda, blames Ryan: report

President Trump reportedly regrets putting repealing and replacing ObamaCare at the top of his legislative agenda and blames Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) for assuring him that a health-care overhaul was sure to pass in the GOP-controlled Congress

Trump has privately fumed that Republican congressional leaders, including Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), misled him on health care, among other issues, The Associated Press reported Friday.

The House rejected an initial proposal to repeal the Affordable Care Act before passing a revised measure earlier this year.

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But the effort later foundered in the Senate and was ultimately upended in July when the chamber narrowly voted down a slimmed-down ObamaCare repeal bill. Trump has voiced particular frustration with McConnell for that failure.

Still, the president’s relationship with Ryan has grown frosty recently, according to the AP. The two men talk less frequently than they used to, and Trump very publicly broke with the Speaker this week when he agreed to a deal with House and Senate Democratic leaders on a short-term debt ceiling increase. 

Both Ryan and McConnell made clear after that deal was announced that it was not their doing, but that they would nonetheless support it.

Health care dominated Trump’s legislative agenda for the first several months of his presidency, taking precedent over other initiatives, such as tax reform and an infrastructure overhaul.

Trump has pushed more aggressively for tax reform in recent weeks. He has made stops in Missouri and North Dakota to pitch his plan and has warned Congress not to let him down on tax legislation. 

On Friday, he tweeted a call for congressional Republicans to act swiftly on tax reform, urging them not to put the matter off until the end of the month. 

“Republicans must start the Tax Reform/Tax Cut legislation ASAP. Don’t wait until the end of September. Needed now more than ever. Hurry!” he tweeted.