Trump wants to add $54 billion to defense and cut social spending
Trump wants to add $54 billion to defense and cut social spending
FEB. 27, 2017, 9:24 A.M.
A look at President Trump's administration and the rest of Washington:
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FEB. 27, 2017, 9:24 A.M.REPORTING FROM WASHINGTON
Trump: 'Nobody knew that healthcare could be so complicated'
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President Trump promised the nation's governors Monday that his yet-to-be-revealed replacement plan for the Affordable Care Act would give states greater flexibility and thanked some Republicans in the room who advised him on healthcare.
"It's an unbelievably complex subject," he said. "Nobody knew that healthcare could be so complicated."
The remark likely surprised state leaders; spending on Medicaid alone was the second-biggest driver of increased state general fund spending, according to the 2016 Fiscal Survey of States conducted by the National Assn. of State Budget Officers.
And it was just eight years ago Washington dove head-first into a raging debate over healthcare reform under President Obama, which simmered long after his signature health law was enacted.
But the finer points of healthcare policy are likely new to Trump, who is immersed in discussions with Republican leaders and his senior staff on that and other subjects ahead of his high-profile address Tuesday to a joint session of Congress.
Trump offered no hint as to the details. Republicans have vowed to repeal and replace Obamacare but their effort has stalled as they debate how to do so and await word from the White House on what Trump wants to do.
The president seemed keenly aware of the political ramifications of whatever steps he takes.
"As soon as we touch it, if we do the most minute thing, just a tiny little change, what's going to happen? They're going to say it's the Republicans' problem," Trump said after telling the governors the easiest thing for him to do would be nothing, and in his view, watch Obamacare collapse.
"But we have to do what's right because Obamacare is a failed disaster."
http://www.latimes.com/politics/wash...htmlstory.html