Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday that Republicans would embark on a “massive reform” of the Affordable Care Act if former President Donald J. Trump is elected again, putting an unpopular policy position back in the spotlight just days before the election.
“Health care reform’s going to be a big part of the agenda,” Mr. Johnson said, speaking at a campaign stop in Pennsylvania and describing what Republicans would do with their first 100 days in office if they are successful in keeping control of the House.
“No Obamacare?” a voter called out.
“No Obamacare,” Mr. Johnson responded. “The A.C.A. is so deeply ingrained, we need massive reform to make this work, and we’ve got a lot of ideas on how to do that.”
Mr. Johnson added that there was a “docs caucus” made up of Republican physicians who serve in the House who have “a menu of options” they were reviewing, including a sweeping overhaul.
“We want to take a blowtorch to the regulatory state,” Mr. Johnson said. His comments were first reported by NBC News.
Mr. Trump’s campaign quickly disavowed the statement, which a spokeswoman said was “not President Trump’s policy position.” But it signaled that, should he win the presidency and Republicans take both houses of Congress, there would be major pressure from some corners of the party to make major changes to former President Barack Obama’s signature domestic policy achievement.
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Source: Elections - nytimes.com