Sen. Collins: I Was With 'Focused' Trump Before Press Conference

Friday, 17 February 2017 02:49 PM EST ET

Work is continuing on healthcare reform and there are general agreements on most aspects of it as Obamacare repeal and replace efforts are set to be revealed in March, Sen. Chris Collins said Friday.

"There are a few details to work out, and the president is focused on this, as is the vice president," Collins told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program. "I think we are in a very good place and we'll follow that up a few months later with a tax reform bill."

Collins said lawmakers are marking up legislation for the first week of March for Obamacare reform and replace efforts, and details are coming together on total reforms on Medicaid.

Vice President Mike Pence is serving as a key liaison between Congress and the Trump administration, said Collins, pointing out that on Thursday, before President Donald Trump's press conference, he, Pence and Trump spoke about healthcare, the infrastructure, and more.

"The president is counting on Vice President Pence to be the go-between the Senate, the House, the administration and various secretaries," said Collins, including Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price on Obamacare and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on tax reform.

Meanwhile, Collins said he was not concerned after Trump's contentious press conference on Thursday.

"I was with the president for the hour just before the press conference," said Collins. "He's relaxed. He's focused. He's got his team working very well. What you are seeing, I think, is a little frustration or a lot of frustration with the way the news media is covering things ... all of us are frustrated. The facts don't matter. When people are trying to fit a story into a bias like the stories already written and they have to find facts, whether they are facts or not, it's simply frustrating."

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Politics
Work is continuing on healthcare reform and there are general agreements on most aspects of it as Obamacare repeal and replace efforts are set to be revealed in March, Sen. Chris Collins said Friday. "There are a few details to work out, and the president is focused on this...
Collins, Trump, Obamacare
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2017-49-17
Friday, 17 February 2017 02:49 PM
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