Report: Trump regrets backing health plan before pushing for tax reform

President Donald Trump regrets throwing his support behind Speaker Paul Ryan’s healthcare proposal before his administration could propose a tax reform plan that more Republicans would favor, according to a Thursday New York Times report. 

Trump reportedly questioned his decision to several allies, saying he should’ve prioritized tax reform after seeing the immediate Republican fallout from the GOP healthcare proposal.

Trump responded to the healthcare chaos with an ultimatum. He sent Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney to announce that either Republicans hold a vote on the bill Friday, or he would move on and they would be stuck with ObamaCare.

The “Art of the Deal” business mogul prides himself in being a skilled negotiator and has been working behind the scenes to whip up votes for the health legislation.

But after throwing his support behind the bill, Trump found himself pinned between Republicans who find the bill does not do enough to repeal and replace ObamaCare, and Democrats and some moderate Republicans who are worried about the expected rise in the number of uninsured people and the rollback of ObamaCare’s Medicaid expansion. 

Trump suggested earlier in the week that Republicans who vote against the bill could suffer in the next elections.

Two of Trump’s closest White House advisers, his chief strategist Steve Bannon and top economic adviser Gary Cohn also reversed their position on the healthcare bill, first favoring it, and then deciding they did not like the compromise version coming out of meetings this week, the Times reports. 

The Times reports Trump did not realize when he agreed to the agenda late last year just how intense of a fight healthcare would be until this week, following harsh criticism and Congressional Budget Office estimates that showed millions more would be uninsured.

This realization has led him to pine about the tax cut plan he should’ve pursued instead.

Vice President Mike Pence initially advised Trump to keep his distance with the bill, encouraging him to label the bill as the House Speaker’s proposal, senior Republicans told the newspaper.

The House is set to vote on the bill Friday, with more than 30 Republicans saying they can’t support it.