White House: Trump would sign latest ObamaCare repeal bill

President Trump would sign the GOP’s latest ObamaCare repeal bill into law if it reached his desk, a White House official told CNN on Tuesday.

CNN reported that the White House has been quietly working for weeks with Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) on their last-ditch effort to repeal former President Obama’s signature health care law.

Vice President Pence is also playing an active role in an effort to get support for the health care push. Pence plans to attend a Senate GOP lunch on Tuesday and tell senators that “this is the moment” to repeal ObamaCare, the vice president told reporters.

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The latest ObamaCare repeal bill would eliminate federal funding for expanding Medicaid, as well as key subsidies under ObamaCare meant to lower premiums and other costs. Under the Graham-Cassidy bill, states would instead receive a lump sum of money through 2026.

News of Trump’s support for the bill comes just a day after Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) threw his support behind the new repeal efforts, calling the bill the “last, best chance” to repeal ObamaCare.

“We hope the Senate does pass Graham-Cassidy. We’re encouraged by the development of Graham-Cassidy,” Ryan said at a town hall on Monday.

“And I do believe it is a far greater improvement over the status quo,” he added. “I’ll take [the] federalism of Graham-Cassidy over a collapsing ObamaCare system any day.”

The Senate has less than two weeks to pass the bill before the Sep. 30 deadline using the fast-track reconciliation process, which would prevent a Democratic filibuster.