President Donald Trump called top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer on Friday to try to revive healthcare legislation — worrying Republicans, Axios reported.
Trump confirmed his phone call with Schumer early Saturday morning after tweeting, "I called Chuck Schumer yesterday to see if the Dems want to do a great HealthCare Bill. ObamaCare is badly broken, big premiums. Who knows!"
Axios attributed its report to "Republican sources." Trump was seeking "a path forward on healthcare," the source said.
The contents of the call were not reported, but word about it circulated quickly on Capitol Hill, Axios reported.
"It codifies the Rs' failure on repeal-replace and shows the president can move without hesitation or ideological impediment to make a deal with the Dems," one "well-wired Republican" told Axios, apparently in an email.
"It depresses R base turnout in the mid-terms, as Trump voters are further disconnected from the congressional wing."
President Trump's promise to repeal and replace Obamacare has gone unfulfilled, as Republicans have repeatedly failed to pass legislation to end the Affordable Care Act after vowing to do so since it was passed in 2010.
Also Friday, the administration rolled back Obamacare's controversial birth-control mandate, allowing virtually any employer to claim a religious or moral objection to paying for contraceptives.
The Axios report could indicate that Trump is prepared to reach out to Democrats to move his healthcare agenda forward.
Last month, Trump sided with Democrats on a three-month extension of the debt limit and a $15.25 billion bill to provide relief to Hurricane Harvey victims.
He reached the deal after meeting at the White House with congressional leaders, later telling reporters that the deal would be "very good."
Schumer, the Senate's minority leader and New York Democrat, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California, attended the meeting.
Trump had dismissed the arguments of fellow Republicans — including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin — who sought a longer debt extension.
Congress passed the legislation that week.
The president also met with Schumer and Pelosi over dinner at the White House, after which the Democrats announced that the president was supporting legislation for the expiring Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
The Democrats said Trump agreed to exclude his demand for a border wall from any DACA agreement.
The White House, however, disputed that claim — and Trump later declared "if we don't have a wall, we're doing nothing."
The previous week, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Trump was giving Congress six months to find a permanent solution to DACA, which was enacted by former President Barack Obama in 2012 via executive order.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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