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Trump Urges End of Filibuster to Pass Health Bill, Which Failed Without It Trump Says G.O.P. Senators ‘Look Like Fools’ After Health Bill’s Failure
(about 5 hours later)
Despite naming a chief of staff who is expected to bring a new sense of discipline to the White House, President Trump resorted to his old Twitter playbook on Saturday, attacking Senate Republicans who he said “look like fools” — even as he demonstrated an uncertain understanding of the legislative process. President Trump on Saturday scolded Congress for looking “like fools” and threatened to cut lawmakers’ health insurance in a broadside a day after the Senate refused to pass a bill to repeal the nation’s health care law.
In a series of early morning messages, the president criticized the Senate’s filibuster rules, saying they were hampering his agenda. In a series of Twitter posts that began shortly before 7 a.m. and continued into the afternoon, Mr. Trump also specifically targeted Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader — even as the president demonstrated an uncertain understanding of the legislative process.
It was not clear why he was focused on the filibuster rule, a parliamentary delay tactic that requires 60 votes to overcome. Republicans have a 52-seat majority in the Senate. A proposal this week to repeal portions of the health care law, as long demanded by Mr. Trump, required a simple 51-vote majority to pass and still failed. Mr. Trump began by criticizing the Senate’s filibuster rules, under which he predicted “many great Republican bills will never pass,” including health care legislation.
Nonetheless, Mr. Trump plowed on in the flurry of Twitter posts that started shortly after 7 a.m., saying “many great Republican bills will never pass,” including health care, under the filibuster rule. It was not clear why he was focused on the filibuster rule, a parliamentary delay tactic that requires 60 votes to overcome. He might have been referring to the broader implications of having to use a Senate reconciliation process as a workaround, and the inability to make major policy changes without getting 60 votes.
Republicans have 52 seats in the Senate. A proposal this past week to repeal portions of the health care law, as long demanded by Mr. Trump, required a simple 51-vote majority to pass and still failed.
A few hours later, Mr. Trump escalated his attack on lawmakers by taking aim at their own health care plans.
The president has sought for months to end federal subsidies for insurance markets. And as recently as Friday, staunch conservatives have demanded the end of a special subsidy for House and Senate lawmakers, and their staffs, through a District of Columbia insurance exchange, instead of a system specifically for federal employees.
In a statement on Saturday, Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the minority leader, said that health care costs would rise for millions of Americans should the federal subsidy for insurance markets be scrapped.
“The president ought to stop playing politics with people’s lives and health care, start leading and finally begin acting presidential,” Mr. Schumer said.
Mr. Trump’s repeated criticisms of Senate process also have rankled the Republican leaders.
Antonia Ferrier, a spokeswoman for Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, declined to comment on Mr. Trump’s posts. “If the leader issues any statements, we’ll be sure to pass along,” she said.Antonia Ferrier, a spokeswoman for Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, declined to comment on Mr. Trump’s posts. “If the leader issues any statements, we’ll be sure to pass along,” she said.
But Mr. McConnell’s former chief of staff, Josh Holmes, cited Mr. Trump’s tweets on Saturday as he sardonically suggested a “search for the idiot who keeps putting the President on irrelevant and counterproductive crusades.” Mr. McConnell’s former chief of staff, Josh Holmes, cited Mr. Trump’s tweets on Saturday as he sardonically suggested a “search for the idiot who keeps putting the President on irrelevant and counterproductive crusades.”
The Senate this year temporarily changed its rules to allow Neil M. Gorsuch, Mr. Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court, to be confirmed by a simple majority. But historically, and facing increasingly narrow elections that can flip control of the Senate every few years, most senators have opposed permanently jettisoning the rule that allows the minority party to indefinitely obstruct something that has majority support. Mr. McConnell changed the filibuster rules to allow all presidential nominees to be confirmed by a simple majority, and he extended that to allow Neil M. Gorsuch, Mr. Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court, to be confirmed as well.
But historically, and facing increasingly narrow elections that can flip control of the Senate every few years, most senators have opposed permanently jettisoning the rule that allows the minority party to indefinitely obstruct something that has majority support. Mr. McConnell has made clear he doesn’t support such a move, as have other members of the Republican caucus. That means that even if he wanted to, he could not end the filibuster on his own.
The president on Saturday also cited a “Fox and Friends” report that claimed Russia was behind an investigation that last year that produced a dossier about alleged unseemly incidents in Mr. Trump’s past. He said the Fox report showed that “Russia was against Trump in the 2016 election” and again blasted the several continuing federal investigations into possible collusion between his campaign and Russia as a “witch hunt.”The president on Saturday also cited a “Fox and Friends” report that claimed Russia was behind an investigation that last year that produced a dossier about alleged unseemly incidents in Mr. Trump’s past. He said the Fox report showed that “Russia was against Trump in the 2016 election” and again blasted the several continuing federal investigations into possible collusion between his campaign and Russia as a “witch hunt.”
Late Friday, the White House announced that Mr. Trump would sign legislation that limits his power to lift sanctions against Russia, Iran and North Korea. The White House had initially resisted the bill.Late Friday, the White House announced that Mr. Trump would sign legislation that limits his power to lift sanctions against Russia, Iran and North Korea. The White House had initially resisted the bill.