Mulvaney: ‘Good chance’ to get ObamaCare deal

by Rebecca Savransky - 10/22/17 11:02 AM ET

White House budget chief Mick Mulvaney said Sunday there is a “good chance” to get a deal on ObamaCare insurer payments.

During an interview on CBS’s “Face The Nation,” Mulvaney was asked about President Trump’s position on the bipartisan health-care deal.

{mosads}”He’s where he has been from the very beginning … , ‘I want to get a deal, I don’t want to give this money to insurance companies,’ ” Mulvaney said.

“He doesn’t want to do any of that without also getting something for folks who are being hurt.”

“I think there’s actually a pretty good chance to get a deal,” he added.

“It’s just Murray-Alexander in its current form probably isn’t far enough.”

A top White House aide said last week that Trump needs more concessions to support a bipartisan ObamaCare bill, including repealing its mandates and taxes.

White House Director of Legislative Affairs Marc Short said on CNN last Thursday evening that Trump “appreciates” the efforts of Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) to forge a bipartisan deal, but “we need a lot more than what’s in the bill right now.”

Trump, though, has sent conflicting messages on whether he supports the bipartisan measure. Last Tuesday, he seemed to endorse it, but then blasted it as a bailout for insurance companies. Then, last Thursday, he said that he is “open to it.”

Tags Lamar Alexander Mick Mulvaney Patty Murray Sunday shows