GOP congressman: 'Something in the swamp' stopped Trump from repealing Obamacare
Rep. David Brat of Virginia, a conservative member of the House Freedom Caucus, told CNN that "something in the swamp" is holding up Trump's promise to repeal Obamacare, formally known as the Affordable Care Act.
Brat said the bill to repeal and replace Obamacare, something Trump promised to do as soon as he took office, was close to completion but was sidetracked by "the swamp of special interests."
"President Trump was very good in the negotiating process," Brat said. "He said yes, [the Freedom Caucus] said yes to him, and then somehow something in the swamp said no so we waited another couple of weeks."
Brat was referencing the president's promise during the campaign to "drain the swamp" of the so-called establishment and special interests.
The bill to repeal and replace Obamacare, the American Health Care Act, was pulled from a planned floor vote on March 24 after conservative Freedom Caucus members and moderate Republicans could not come to an agreement on the framework of the bill. Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan reversed course just minutes before a scheduled vote, after it became that there were not enough GOP members in support of the bill.
Since then, the White House has tried to bridge the gap to no avail. But a proposed amendment circulated Thursday that could bring Freedom Caucus members on board with the AHCA.
White House sources indicated that they wanted a vote on the updated version of the AHCA as early as next week, a prospect Brat said he would favor. But GOP congressional leaders have been dubious of that timeline.
Brat publicly said he would not vote for the original installment of the AHCA.
Watch the full interview via CNN: