House majority leader says no set timeline on Obamacare replacement
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California isn’t putting a date on when Republican legislators will have an Obamacare replacement ready.
Asked how soon House Republicans could unite behind a plan to replace the Affordable Care Act, McCarthy said Friday in a “CBS This Morning” interview, “I’m not going to put a set timeline on it because I want to make sure we get it right.”
But McCarthy promised that an ACA substitute will be “one of the first actions we start working on.”
“Once we get the president sworn in now, next week we’ll open up Congress but we’ll go away on a retreat” to work on it, he said. McCarthy added that the president would also attend the retreat.
When asked about his thoughts on Donald Trump’s inauguration and all three branches of Congress under Republican control, McCarthy said the GOP “know[s] the responsibility that we have.”
Questioned about Mr. Trump’s historically low approval ratings just as he takes office, the California Republican dismissed the recent polling.
“If I read into polls, it means he wouldn’t even be elected,” McCarthy quipped. “I think this is a window of an opportunity to move forward.”