Trump stays on sidelines as GOP falters in push to unite on healthcare plan
President Donald Trump has largely stayed out of the picture as lawmakers on Capitol Hill scramble to find a healthcare proposal that Republicans can get behind.It’s a notable contrast from...
By Fox News · Fox News
President Donald Trump has largely stayed out of the picture as lawmakers on Capitol Hill scramble to find a healthcare proposal that Republicans can get behind. It’s a notable contrast from past direction-setting stances from the White House — one that Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., jokingly noted seems out of character for a president known for weighing in on just about any picture. "I mean, he’s a pretty quiet guy. He just doesn’t get engaged in things much, does he?" Scott quipped. MODERATE REPUBLICAN ERUPTS ON HOUSE GOP LEADERS, SAYS NOT HOLDING OBAMACARE VOTE IS 'ABSOLUTE BULLS---' Trump’s silence on legislative affairs doesn’t just extend to healthcare. Lawmakers have received little word from the White House in recent months on issues like codifying cuts to government spending, the potential for a second reconciliation package and legislation on affordability. To Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., the chair of the once hyperactive House DOGE Caucus, that doesn’t mean Trump is absent. "That’s not my perception," Bean said when asked if Trump had pulled off a disappearing act. "He’s been there. His people are here; they’re in the room — they were here tonight." Although Trump’s direction may ultimately prove necessary to bring the party together on any of those topics, Republicans across both chambers of Congress believe the president is giving legislators latitude to work on key issues while staying plugged in behind the scenes. Trump’s hands-off approach comes as lawmakers wrestle with whether to extend COVID-19-era federal subsidies used by the vast majority of Obamacare policyholders, let them expire at the end of the year and let health insurance costs jump overnight, or attempt broader reforms to bring the costs of the program down. HOUSE GOP TENSIONS ERUPT AS REPUBLICANS TURN ON EACH OTHER HEADING INTO YEAR'S END Republicans have just two weeks to come up with a solution before the subsidies expire. "My sense is I think he’s trying to give some room for negotiators to…