Trump Demands Swift ACA Repeal As GOP Splits Over Timing

WASHINGTON - President-elect Donald Trump said Republicans should repeal Obamacare immediately, even as a breakaway group of five moderate Senate Republicans is trying to delay the effort until March.

Trump told The New York Times in an interview that repeal should happen as early as next week and that "the replace will be very quickly or simultaneously, very shortly thereafter."

Congress isn't planning to act that quickly, and if those five GOP senators stand firm on their demand to flesh out a replacement before acting on a repeal, it could take even longer.

For now, Republican leaders including House Speaker Paul Ryan say the election result affirmed the need for urgency.

"This is a rescue mission," Ryan told reporters Tuesday.

Even so, Republicans in both chambers are showing growing uneasiness about the rush to deliver swiftly on one of Trump's top campaign promises.

Sens. Bob Corker of Tennessee, Rob Portman of Ohio, Susan Collins of Maine, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska offered an amendment Monday night to the budget resolution that would extend the target date for the committees to write an Obamacare repeal bill to March 3 from Jan. 27.

"As President-elect Trump has stated, repeal and replace should take place simultaneously, and this amendment will give the incoming administration more time to outline its priorities," Corker said in a statement. "By extending the deadline for budget reconciliation instructions until March, Congress and the incoming administration will each have additional time to get the policy right."

With Democrats opposed to a straight repeal bill, Republicans can lose no more than one backer if they want to fast-track their approach before Trump takes office. Republican leaders in the Senate are hoping to adopt the budget resolution - which would allow an Obamacare repeal bill to pass with 50 votes and escape a Senate filibuster - early Thursday after a marathon session of amendment votes.

More broadly, the amendment reflects the deep divisions, which persist nearly seven years into Republicans' promises to repeal and replace Obamacare, within the party on what kind of system to set up. Views range from a minimalist approach - favored by the most conservative members - that lets the market work its will, to a substantial but scaled-back government role that maintains significant parts of the law, such as financial assistance to cover low-income people under Medicaid.

Republicans are also waiting to see whether Trump will lay out more details about his objectives, particularly after the incoming president warned party leaders to be careful how they proceed with repeal.

"We're continuing to formulate a plan," Sean Spicer, a transition spokesman, told reporters Tuesday in a conference call.

On the House side, the new chairman of the conservative Freedom Caucus said his group wants to see more details about an Obamacare replacement before voting on the budget resolution.

"We hope they would see the prudence of waiting," Rep. Mark Meadows, RN.C., said Monday night.

Interviews with many Republicans indicate that the party is no closer to consensus two months after an election that gave them unified control of the White House and Congress.

Even before the new amendment was offered, Cassidy, Collins and other senators pushed to delay any repeal of Obamacare tax hikes so that there would be revenue to pay for a replacement plan. This puts them at odds with House conservatives, who have been demanding a full, immediate repeal.

On Monday, more senators said they agreed with a delay on the tax front, including Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota.

John Cornyn of Texas, the No. 2 Senate Republican, told reporters that the taxes used to subsidize insurance for millions of Americans could be dealt with later this year in a larger tax overhaul.

Republican senators are also grappling with the risks of repealing the law before a replacement is ready.

Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin said he wants to see a "pretty darn specific" proposal to replace Obamacare before it's repealed.

"Let's start taking test votes on the different elements" and "start making the political points" for "what is going to be a more rational health care system that actually works," Johnson said in an interview. "There is enough resistance and probably recognition" among Republicans that the Senate is likely to move slowly on repeal, he said. "It sounds like President-elect Trump is kind of weighing into it as well, saying, be a little careful here - we repeal it, it's ours."

Other Republicans are still supporting their leaders' strategy. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina said that "if there is a vote to repeal Obamacare I'm going to vote yes," but he wants a three-year delay in implementation for a "comfortable landing." Others also support a swift repeal vote.