Trump to address House GOP ahead of ObamaCare repeal vote

President Trump will address the House Republican Conference on Tuesday ahead of the chamber’s vote on ObamaCare repeal legislation, a GOP aide told The Hill. 

Trump will likely try to appeal to more Republicans during an appearance at the conference’s weekly meeting.

He has met with conservatives frequently over the last few weeks, trying to sway them as they threaten to vote against the American Health Care Act on Thursday for leaving in place several ObamaCare provisions. 

Trump met last week with members of the Republican Study Committee and assured two small changes would be made to the bill. In exchange, those RSC members present said they would vote for it on the floor. 

{mosads}Those changes include allowing states the option of imposing Medicaid work requirements and the option of accepting Medicaid funding through block grants. 

But the 40-member conservative House Freedom Caucus said those changes are not enough to gain its support. The caucus wants to speed up the rollback of the Medicaid expansion and eliminate insurer mandates and requirements. 

Leadership is unlikely to accept those changes, which could alienate moderate Republicans. 

Some of those moderates have expressed concerns about how the plan would handle the Medicaid expansion. 

The bill needs 216 votes to pass the House, meaning as many as 21 Republicans could vote against it and it would still pass without support from Democrats.  

Trump travelled to Capitol Hill last month a joint address to Congress and last week for a Friends of Ireland luncheon.

Scott Wong contributed to this report, which was updated at 2:08 p.m.