VIRGINIA, United States (Reuters) — Protesters showed up at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Thursday (June 22) after Republicans unveiled a health care plan that President Donald Trump said he was “very supportive” of in a Twitter post.
Trump said, “I am very supportive of the Senate #HealthcareBill. Look forward to making it really special! Remember, ObamaCare is dead.”
United States Senate leaders on Thursday unveiled a draft of legislation to replace Obamacare, proposing to kill a tax on the wealthy that pays for it and reduce aid to the poor to cut costs.
The draft bill’s fate was immediately thrown into question, however, by a statement from Senator Rand Paul and three other conservative Republicans, who said they were “not ready to vote” for it. Democrats need the support of only three Republicans to quash the measure in the Republican-led chamber.
The emergence of four Senate skeptics underscored the difficulty for Republicans of steering the legislation down a narrow path to passage. Democrats already deeply oppose Republican attempts to overhaul former President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law.