Trump phones Senate holdouts on GOP healthcare bill

by Jordan Fabian - 06/26/17 2:47 PM ET

President Trump has phoned several Republican holdouts on the Senate healthcare bill to try to get them on board.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Monday that Trump spoke by phone this weekend with Sens. Rand Paul (Ky.), Ted Cruz (Texas) and Ron Johnson (Wis.).

Those three GOP senators, along with Utah’s Mike Lee, oppose the Senate bill released last week because it does not go far enough to repeal ObamaCare and lower insurance premiums.

{mosads}Trump also talked with Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), who is undecided on the measure. Capito is concerned about the proposal’s cuts to Medicaid.

“The president talked extensively with several Republican members over the weekend and he felt very positive about those discussions, but they’re ongoing,” Spicer said.

The calls show the president is becoming personally involved in trying to push the embattled legislation through the Senate.

Senate GOP leaders are planning to vote before the July 4 recess on the bill to overhaul ObamaCare, but they are short of the votes they need to pass it; Republicans can only afford two defections and still approve the measure.

Tags Mike Lee Rand Paul Ron Johnson Shelley Moore Capito Ted Cruz