WASHINGTON (AP) – For Donald Trump, self-proclaimed master negotiator, making deals with Congress was supposed to be easy. “This Congress is going to be the busiest Congress we’ve had in decades, maybe ever,” Trump predicted shortly after taking office.
Not so far.
With Republicans in charge of the House, the Senate and the White House for the first time in a decade, Trump didn’t reckon with the reality of GOP divisions so intractable they may doom his major legislative priorities.
A restive right flank willing to defy party leaders dealt him a humiliating setback on health care last month. That called into question whether Republicans will ever make good on their longstanding promise of repealing and replacing former President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act. If they can’t, they will likely also struggle to produce the sweeping tax legislation and massive infrastructure investments that Trump promised.
The White House is pushing House GOP leaders to try again on health care, and there’s been recent progress as the conservative House Freedom Caucus endorsed the latest version of the bill. But leaders are struggling to round up support from more moderate Republicans, and it’s uncertain when or if the legislation will come to a vote.