Republicans stunned Trump’s pushing Obamacare fight instead of Mueller exoneration: ‘Why would he shoot himself in the foot?’

March 27-- Mar. 27--Republicans were perplexed Wednesday that President Trump is reopening a politically risky battle over repealing the Affordable Care Act instead of riding high on special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation concluding without criminal exposure for the President.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, the most powerful Republican in the lower chamber, told Trump over the phone that the Justice Department's unexpected Monday night court filing supporting a complete gutting of the Obama-era health care law doesn't make any political sense at this point, two sources familiar with the conversation told Axios.

A White House spokesman declined to comment as did a representative for McCarthy (R-Calif.).

Polling shows health care was among the top issues for voters in the November congressional midterm elections, which caused a blue wave to crash over the House, with Democrats flipping more than 40 red seats. Voters who cared the most about health care during the midterms favored Democrats over Republicans by more than two-to-one, according to exit polls.

Conversely, the administration has no replacement plan for the law known as Obamacare, and if it is completely repealed, as requested in the court filing, some 20 million Americans would lose health insurance. Most of those who would be impacted are low-income people.

Even if the White House draws up a replacement plan, Republican strategists who spoke to the Daily News pointed out that the chances of it passing through the Democratically-controlled House are close to none.

"Republicans of all wings of the party understand that," said Ryan Williams, a former adviser to Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah). "It's even more perplexing since the President himself is on the ballot next year and have his own political considerations to think about."

Additionally, Williams questioned why Trump would jump the gun on a contentious issue like health care instead of embracing the victory granted by Attorney General William Barr releasing a summary of Mueller's probe clearing the President and his campaign of participating in Russia's interference in the 2016 election.

"Why would he shoot himself in a foot like this?" Williams said.

The administration previously supported keeping in place most parts of Obamacare while throwing out its unpopular provisions, such as the individual mandate, which fines people who do not purchase health care.

However, in the brief Monday night filing, the administration abruptly flipped positions and said it backs a handful of Republican attorneys general who are plaintiffs in a legal challenge hoping to undo Obamacare completely.

That legal challenge is currently going through appeals but could end up in the Supreme Court.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office Wednesday afternoon, Trump said, "If the Supreme Court rules that Obamacare is out, we'll have a plan that is far better than Obamacare."

It's unclear what the President was talking about since his administration and congressional Republicans have yet to roll out a plan.

The administration's Obamacare flip-flop proved a welcome opportunity for Democrats, who saw it as a chance to shift the conversation from Mueller to health care.

"This Administration's intentions are clear: to take a wrecking ball to our entire healthcare system and gut protections for those with pre-existing conditions," Rep. Max Rose (D-N.Y.) said in a statement Wednesday, referring to the popular Obamacare protection. "That's unfathomable."

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