Trump Meddling Leaves Ryan's Clout in Doubt After Health Fiasco [View all]

[DonViejo]

by Anna Edgerton

April 12, 2017, 5:00 AM EDT

Speaker was face of health-care bill until Trump stepped in

Republicans still making changes to bill and hoping for vote

Paul Ryan was the public face of Republican efforts to repeal Obamacare until two weeks ago. Then he went nearly silent.

The White House began demanding votes, driving a frenzied debate on amendments and negotiating late into the night with conservative holdouts -- all with Ryan mostly on the sidelines. That has GOP lawmakers wondering who’ll lead their next attempt at fulfilling a longstanding Republican campaign promise.

“I asked Speaker Ryan directly -- who’s in charge of the House? Is it President Trump or is it Speaker Ryan?" Representative Justin Amash of Michigan, a Freedom Caucus member, told a local radio station Tuesday.

The abrupt death of the repeal effort, its short-lived rebirth and then a pause for a two-week recess has left Republicans adrift -- unclear where their long-promised repeal effort stands, whether Ryan will reassert himself in the House and what President Donald Trump will demand of them next.

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https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-04-12/trump-meddling-leaves-ryan-s-clout-in-doubt-after-health-fiasco?cmpid%253D=socialflow-twitter-politics