Amid the Obamacare fight and President Donald Trump's declaration of the GOP as the "party of healthcare," Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., is introducing a budget amendment to protect pre-existing conditions.
"Today at the @SenateBudget markup I will be introducing my amendment to protect health care coverage for those with pre-existing conditions," Sen. Scott tweeted Thursday.
Scott's announcement, as a nonbinding addition to the Trump 2020 budget, comes as Republicans were caught off guard by the president's declaration and the Justice Department's push to declare the entire Affordable Care Act unconstitutional in the courts.
"I don't think there was any heads-up on anything that he was going to say," Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said Wednesday, according to The Hill.
President Trump is seemingly setting the table for 2020 on the one large campaign promise that has plagued him, repealing and replacement of Obamacare. Democrats lining up for 2020's primary are honing in on healthcare failures.
"I frankly do not understand why Republicans seem to have such a hatred toward providing healthcare to the American people," Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said, per The Hill.
Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., is positioning himself as a moderate Democrat on the issue, saying the ACA is failing but a complete abolishment is not the answer either.
Regardless, President Trump wants his party to make headway before 2020, as he tweeted Tuesday:
"The Republican Party will become 'The Party of Healthcare!'"
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