Oct 7, 2017

Scoop: Trump phones Schumer for help on health care, worrying GOP

Photo: Evan Vucci, J. Scott Applewhite / AP

President Trump telephoned Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer on Friday in an effort to revive health-care legislation, Republican sources said.

Trump was seeking "a path forward on health care," a GOP source said.

Be smart: The president's call shows he may be open to future deals with Democratic leaders, in the mold of the "Chuck and Nancy" agreements on the debt limit and immigration that he struck in September.

Although it's not known what Trump proposed or how Schumer responded, word traveled fast among Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill:

  • The initial reaction among some Republicans was consternation, even though they didn't know the upshot of the call.
  • A well-wired Republican told us: "It codifies the Rs' failure on repeal/replace and shows the President can move without hesitation or ideological impediment to make a deal with the Dems. It depresses R base turnout in the midterms, as Trump voters are further disconnected from the Congressional wing."

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