Trump slammed Senate Republicans for failing to pass an Obamacare repeal plan.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday swiped back at Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who previously said the president had unrealistic expectations about how quickly legislation could pass.
On Twitter, Trump slammed Senate Republicans for failing to pass an Obamacare repeal plan after campaigning on dismantling the law for most of a decade.
“Senator Mitch McConnell said I had ‘excessive expectations, ‘ but I don’t think so, ” Trump wrote. “After 7 years of hearing Repeal & Replace, why not done?”
On Tuesday, McConnell partly blamed deadlines set by Trump and others for the perception that Republicans have failed to follow through on their campaign promises.
“Our new president has, of course, not been in this line of work before and I think had excessive expectations about how quickly things happen in the democratic process, ” he said while on recess in Kentucky. Trump’s tweet about McConnell echoed one sent earlier Wednesday by Dan Scavino, his director of social media.
The exchanges likely will not help relations between the president and Republican senators. The Senate GOP has increasingly shrugged off suggestions from Trump as he faces low approval ratings and struggles to enact his agenda. For example, the president has urged senators to keep trying to pass an Obamacare repeal, but that has fallen on mostly deaf ears.
Multiple Senate efforts to repeal or replace the Affordable Care Act failed last month as the GOP could not overcome party divisions. Senate leaders have said they will move on to tax policy when they return from their August recess, over Trump’s suggestion to stay on health care until they pass a bill.
Trump has faced the harsh reality of Washington’s legislative pace since he took office. As a candidate, he promised to “immediately” repeal and replace Obamacare.
His administration also originally set an August goal for passing tax reform legislation.
