VP Mike Pence on health care: ‘We're on the verge of a historic accomplishment’
Pence said he’s confident the Senate will be able to move forward on the bill.
— -- Vice President Mike Pence spent his first anniversary since being announced as President Trump’s running mate working to drum up support for their 2016 campaign promise to repeal and replace Obamacare.
This week at the bipartisan National Governors Association meeting in Providence, Rhode Island, Pence was met by skepticism from state leaders concerned about proposed cuts to Medicaid expansion.
On Saturday night, while speaking to a crowd of cheering young conservatives at the Maverick PAC conference in Washington, Pence said he’s confident the Senate will be able to move forward on the health care bill.
“We're on the verge of a historic accomplishment here in our nation’s capital,” said Pence. “Because in the coming days, President Trump, working with the Congress that you helped elect, is going to keep our promise to the American people, and we are going to repeal and replace Obamacare.”
“Just two days ago, building on the good work of the House of Representatives, Senate leadership unveiled a new version of the Senate health care bill,” said Pence. “The Senate health care bill is the right bill at the right time to begin to repeal and replace Obamacare, and to rescue the American people from this disastrous policy.”
Republicans are struggling to find consensus and enough support to hit 50 “yea” votes on the bill, despite Trump taking to Twitter on Friday to pressure Republican senators currently on the fence, and Pence’s pitches in closed door meetings with governors and in a his speech tonight.
The task of whipping up support for the bill during the crucial week before voting seems to have largely rested on Pence’s shoulders this week, as Trump traveled to Paris and Bedminster, New Jersey. The vice president told supporters tonight to ignore what they’re hearing on cable television, saying he’s certain Republican senators will come together in support of the legislation.
“President Trump and I are confident, that when the time comes as early as next week, that Republicans and Senators are going to come together and they're going to move this bill forward and we will see the beginning of the end of the nightmare of Obamacare,” he said.