WASHINGTON 鈥� White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told CBS 太子探花 correspondent Steven Portnoy that conservative lawmakers on Capitol Hill need to get on board with the current Republican plan to repeal and replace Obamacare, and that the White House still has questions about their charges that President Barack Obama had President Donald Trump wiretapped.
CBS 太子探花 White House correspondent Steven Portnoy talked with WTOP on Friday, shortly after his interview with White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer for the CBS 太子探花 Weekend Roundup. Portnoy said Trump was working 鈥渞ather aggressively鈥� to get support from Congress for the American Health Care Act.
Trump has a rally scheduled for Tuesday night in Nashville, and is meeting with members of Congress every day to convince those who are on the fence about the bill. He recently invited a group of lawmakers to the White House for a night of pizza, beer and bowling, which Portnoy characterized as 鈥減art of the soft sell,鈥� but emphasized that 鈥渢he White House is very much in sell mode.鈥�
The administration, Portnoy said, is trying to navigate between conservative Republicans in the House Freedom Caucus who object to the act鈥檚 tax credits for health insurance and moderate Senate Republicans 鈥渨ho frankly are worried about whether this package will unwind the Medicaid expansion too soon.鈥�
According to a partial transcript released by CBS 太子探花, Spicer told Portnoy that his message to Republicans in Congress is, 鈥淭his is the only alternative to repeal and replace health care with a patient-centered plan.鈥�
Portnoy said Spicer told him the tax credits are 鈥渆ssential.鈥� According to the transcript, Spicer said, 鈥淭here鈥檚 鈥� millions of people who have to go into the single market.聽And we want to make sure that they have the same advantages that every other American has, who gets their benefits through, either employer-based or through Medicare or Medicaid or Tricare.鈥�
Wiretap charges
Last Saturday, the president, in a series of tweets, said that then-President Barack Obama had Trump鈥檚 phones tapped during the 2016 presidential campaign. The White House has offered no evidence in support of the charges, and has instead pivoted from the president鈥檚 tweets, which were phrased as declarations of fact, into requests for investigations.
Spicer continued on that track with Portnoy, saying of Congress, 鈥淚 think there鈥檚 a lot that they need to look at,鈥� according to the transcript.
FBI Director James Comey went to Capitol Hill earlier this week to address Gang of Eight 鈥� the bipartisan, bicameral group of legislators who get 鈥渞ead in鈥� to classified information 鈥� regarding the wiretapping charges. Before the meeting, Portnoy told WTOP, he was told Comey intended to tell them 鈥渢here was no truth鈥� to Trump鈥檚 accusations.
A week from Monday, Comey has been invited to testify before the House Intelligence Committee. It鈥檚 possible he will refute the Trump accusations publicly. Portnoy said he asked Spicer whether 鈥渢hat sets the president up for an embarrassment.鈥�
Spicer responded, 鈥淚 think there鈥檚 a lot that needs to get discussed about the 2016 election,鈥� the transcript said. He also said that many accusations against the Trump administration were made by 鈥渁nonymous sources,鈥� and that 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 time that in some cases we do hear directly from the sources.鈥�
The full interview will be aired on the CBS 太子探花 Weekend Roundup; on WTOP’s sister station, WFED, and will be available on iTunes.
