As Obamacare repeal faltered, Dent drew the ire of Trump

Morning Call (Allentown, PA)

March 27--When Lehigh Valley U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent and other House GOP moderates met last Tuesday with President Donald Trump about a looming vote on the Obamacare repeal bill, Dent told the president he had reservations and was leaning toward a "no" vote.

When Dent and 16 others from the centrist Republicans' Tuesday Group caucus returned to the White House two days later, the 15th District congressman told the president he intended to oppose the bill. That time, Trump didn't take the news as well.

The president accused Dent of "destroying the Republican Party," according to the New York Times, and of jeopardizing future plans to overhaul the federal tax code.

Dent on Sunday confirmed that sentiment from the meeting, telling The Morning Call that Trump had described him as "hurting the party, or something to that effect."

"He took it pretty well in the first meeting," Dent said of Trump's reaction to his position on the bill. "He didn't take it take it quite as well the second and third times I said 'no' on Thursday."

Dent said he didn't take the president's comment personally, instead chalking it up to emotions running high as the bill's imminent failure became increasingly clear. He added that he doesn't expect a long-term effect on his relationship with the Trump administration.

"I'll be able to work with the president," Dent said, noting the upcoming negotiations over tax reform, a possible infrastructure bill, legislation to keep the government running and to raise the debt ceiling. "They're going to need me."

Dent, who co-chairs the Tuesday Group, was among Republicans who opposed Trump's candidacy for president.

After the election, Dent pledged to work with the administration on areas where he agrees -- and to "serve as a check" when he disagrees with his party's president.

"It's not like there's been a cozy relationship to begin with between congressman Dent and the White House," said Chris Borick, a political scientist and pollster at Allentown's Muhlenberg College. "The rejection of a key piece of legislation that the president has gotten behind only exacerbates the tensions there and puts a bigger target on congressman Dent if the president would like to punish those who haven't been on his side."

Dent wasn't alone in expressing concerns about the failed Obamacare repeal bill, as both moderates and conservatives had pointed to an array of provisions they sought to tweak.

Dent, who represents Lehigh County and part of Northampton County, felt that the insurance tax credits, intended to offset premium costs, were too small, and he spoke about the effect of the proposed Medicaid changes on Pennsylvania and other states that had expanded their low-income health insurance program.

He also called for removing the provision to defund Planned Parenthood, arguing that it should be dealt with separately.

Still, Dent said he tried to keep an open mind heading into Tuesday's meeting with the president, where he discussed his concerns.

As Dent and others made clear that they were on the fence, the Trump administration and House GOP leaders had proposed changes, which largely were targeted at the party's more conservative members.

"We all know why the bill went down," Dent said. "It went down because when we were talking on Wednesday and Thursday, the White House was making concessions to folks in the Freedom Caucus" -- a group of hard-line House conservatives -- "knowing darn well they had no intention of voting for the bill."

Those concessions -- including undoing provisions in the Affordable Care Act that require insurers to provide certain "essential" benefits, such as prescription drugs or maternity care -- " ended up alienating and driving away some people on the center-right," said Dent, who publicly announced his opposition to the bill late Wednesday night.

During that process, Dent wasn't the only one on the receiving end of the president's irritation: During a closed-door meeting of House Republicans earlier in the week, Trump had lashed out at North Carolina congressman Mark Meadows, who leads the House Freedom Caucus.

Trump reportedly threatened to "come after" Meadows, adding: "But I know I won't have to, because I know you'll vote 'yes.'"

On Sunday, Trump directed blame for the bill's failure at the Freedom Caucus, the conservative Heritage Foundation and the free-market advocacy group Club for Growth, which opposed the bill for not going far enough to undo Obamacare.

"Democrats are smiling in D.C. that the Freedom Caucus, with the help of Club for Growth and Heritage, have saved Planned Parenthood & Ocare!" Trump wrote on Twitter.

During an interview Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press," Dent reiterated his frustration with the process leading up to the repeal bill being pulled from consideration Friday due to a lack of support.

"My bottom line is this: This discussion has been far too much about artificial timelines, arbitrary deadlines -- all to affect the baseline on tax reform," Dent said, referring to the intention outlined by the administration and GOP leaders to use the savings from Obamacare reforms to pay for changes to the tax code.

He continued: "This conversation should be more about the people whose lives are going to be impacted by our decisions on their health care. We did not have enough of a substantive discussion."

Dent said Friday he hopes that the party can take another look at health care reform, and this time include Democrats in those talks, a process that he says would lead to more "sustainable" changes.

As Trump seeks to move the conversation to tax reform, lawmakers also are facing an April 28 deadline to approve more money to keep the government running.

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