For White House budget director Mick Mulvaney and House Speaker Paul Ryan, the members of the House Freedom Caucus sitting beside and around them at the long table at the center of the conference room adjoining Ryan’s Capitol Hill office had spent enough time talking. A deal was on the table – one the White House and House leaders never planned to give in on – and this was the time to see how many of the conservative, and proudly intransigent, members it would bring aboard.
Mulvaney pointed to a member and asked where he stood, according to multiple sources inside the room. His request was met with demurral. Confused, Ryan tried again. Then Rep. Raul Labrador of Idaho spoke up: The Freedom Caucus is unified and Rep. Mark Meadows, the caucus chair, speaks for the group. Mulvaney and Ryan turned to Meadows. The group was indeed unified, Meadows told them. And they were still a no.
It was a gut punch moment for White House and leadership officials who’d knowingly risked the bill’s fate by offering a compromise to the group, but were convinced it would be enough to start quickly picking off members, one-by-one.
Steve Bannon, President Donald Trump’s chief strategist, was furious and confronted the group. There would be no more negotiating, he said.
But Thursday night, as the men who could make or break the Obamacare repeal effort stared back at one another across the table, the realization was hitting many involved: There would be no deal.
The GOP’s long-awaited Obamacare repeal bill, the first big push of the new Republican era, was doomed.
This story relies on accounts from more than two dozen administration officials, congressional staffers and Republicans close to the health care process. It recounts the chaotic period of brinkmanship, improvisation and disappointment that unfolded as the Republican Party – yet again, but for the first time with its newly minted Republican President – turned against itself.
The debacle raises a very real question as Republicans pledge to move onto other equally ambitious Trump agenda items – like tax reform, an even heavier lift than Obamacare. Can Republicans actually govern?
At the White House, top Trump aides seemed stunned at the position they’d wound up in.
“Seven years and this is what we get,” one senior administration official said. “Really incredible.”
Privately, Trump’s team seethed. In their view, the President had ventured far out on a limb. He’d pushed to change the provision to force all health insurers to cover crucial services like maternity care, mental health and prescription drugs. He’d guaranteed other promises in writing.
In the West Wing, there was still determination to force a vote the following day. But optimism? That was in short supply.
Less than 24 hours later, the issue Trump pledged to take care of “on Day 1” imploded upon itself.
It was an epic failure for a young administration still feeling its way around through the byzantine bureaucratic maze that is Washington and a stunning defeat for a speaker who made his name as the wonk-prince of the GOP.
Speaking from the Oval Office on Friday, the President was careful to lay the blame on Democrats, whom he had neither engaged with nor expected to support the GOP’s attempt to unspool their legacy legislation. But Trump also seemed clear-eyed about the surprises the process served up, which likely weren’t news to anyone but him.
“We learned a lot about loyalty,” Trump said. “We learned a lot about some very arcane rules in obviously both the Senate and in the House. So, it’s been certainly, for me, it’s been a very interesting experience.”
Friday dawned with Republicans digesting Trump’s ultimatum, unveiled by Mulvaney on Capitol Hill Thursday night. The President – who campaigned daily on repealing Obamacare – was threatening to leave them saddled with the law if they did not vote for his replacement plan.
As the sun was just rising over the White House on the crisp morning, a weary Mulvaney walked slowly up the north driveway toward the West Wing. He had just finished a tough round of television interviews, where he put on a brave face about the fate of the bill.
But away from the cameras, he paused for a moment and said bluntly what he telegraphed privately the night before: “If it fails today, we’re moving on.”
It was the decision of a boardroom titan who believes you have to know when to walk away to seal a deal. It turns out those bluffs don’t always pay off outside the board room.
The Freedom Caucus was standing firm – insisting the Trump-Ryan plan was effectively Obamacare lite – a new entitlement, simply swapping the Affordable Care Act’s subsidies for tax credits. The White House and House leadership had inched their way in offering to repeal a key insurance mandate, but they wanted more – a repeal of Obamacare’s entire insurance regulation infrastructure.
Arrayed against them were the moderates of the Tuesday Group, who feared that the American Health Care Act represented a wrecking ball to their hopes of retaining their seats in less conservative territory during the midterm elections in 2018.
Despite a raucous and, according to several people in the room, deeply emotional closed-door conference meeting the night before, by mid-morning on Friday, Ryan knew there was no way forward, several sources involved in the process recounted.
The speaker approached Meadows on the floor at 10:30 a.m., nodding to the proclamation the night before the Meadows was the sole spokesman for the Freedom Caucus. He asked him point blank – were he and his group still a “no?”
Ryan decided it was time to head to the White House to deliver the bad news to Trump.
His dash down Pennsylvania Avenue was immediately interpreted by lawmakers and reporters as a sign that the game was up.
But Trump’s spokesman, Sean Spicer, was putting on a brave face, chastening reporters for being so downbeat about the bill’s prospects.
“You guys are so negative!” Spicer said. He appeared to be trying to boost his own spirits as much as anyone’s during a particularly melancholy defense of the GOP health care bill’s prospects in the White House Briefing Room.
At that very moment, a few hundred feet away, Ryan was telling Trump the painful truth.
Over lunch of grilled chicken, Brussels sprouts and twice-baked potatoes – Ryan got to the point: The ultimatum hadn’t worked.
Moderates – burned by the concessions to conservatives – continued to fall away, and they were actually getting further from the 215 votes they would’ve needed for passage.
The President did not have the votes and Ryan wanted Trump to agree to pull the bill from the floor.
Until that point, Trump had bought into the theory from his aides that it was time to smoke out disloyal members with a vote. The President wanted to know who would truly be on his side in the future.
But Ryan countered, forcefully, that it was bad strategy. The Freedom Caucus had been the cause of much heartburn for the House speaker, but forging ahead with a vote would expose the moderates – the very members the GOP needs to keep its majority.
Freedom Caucus members wouldn’t be punished politically for the vote. Most come from very safe districts. In fact, most – if not all – had run ahead of Trump in November in those districts.
The members from swing districts would take the biggest hit.
Photos: The crazy week in Washington
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President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media as Vice President Mike Pence looks on in the Oval Office on Friday, March 27, after Republicans were forced to pull a health care bill that aimed to repeal and replace Obamacare. "We had no votes from the Democrats. They weren't going to give us a single vote, so it's a very very difficult thing to do," Trump said.
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Andrew Harnik/AP
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, right, smiles while speaking at a news conference on Capitol Hill on Friday, March 24, after Republican leaders pulled their health care overhaul bill from a floor vote. Democrats erupted in glee following the news, since Obamacare will stay -- at least for now. Pelosi said during the news conference, "Today's a great day for our country," adding later, "It's pretty exciting for us."
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House Speaker Paul Ryan pauses while speaking at a news conference on Capitol Hill on Friday, March 24. Ryan pulled the health care bill from a floor vote after being unable to secure enough support to pass it.
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J. Scott Applewhite/AP
After eight hours of debate on Capitol Hill, US Rep. and Chairman of the House Rules Committee Pete Sessions, left, and US Rep. Tom Cole, vice chair of the committee, listen to arguments from fellow committee members regarding the final version of the GOP health care bill on Wednesday, March 22. House GOP lawmakers have been working to repeal the Affordable Care Act. A vote on the new legislation was set to take place on Friday, but House Speaker Paul Ryan pulled the health care bill from a floor vote after being unable to secure enough support to pass it.
Photos: The crazy week in Washington
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US Rep. Devin Nunes, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, speaks to the media on Capitol Hill on Friday, March 24. Nunes announced that Paul Manafort, the former campaign chairman for President Trump, has offered to testify before the committee regarding allegations of Russian interference in the election. Nunes said FBI Director James Comey and NSA Director Mike Rogers will testify again to the committee behind closed doors, and added that the committee will delay its March 28 hearing -- a decision infuriating Democrats on the committee.
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President Trump pretends to drive a truck during an event with truckers and truck industry executives on the South Lawn of the White House on Thursday, March 23.
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Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch listens to Sen. Richard Blumenthal deliver opening remarks on Capitol Hill on Monday, March 20, during Gorsuch's confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Monday was the first day of four hearings for Gorsuch, a federal appeals court judge from Colorado whom Trump has nominated to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia.
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FBI Director James Comey testifies on Capitol Hill on Monday, March 20, before the House Intelligence Committee. Comey said the FBI is investigating allegations of possible coordination between members of Trump's presidential campaign and Russia. He also testified that there is no evidence of wiretaps on Trump Tower. 9 things we learned from the Comey hearing
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Cliff Owen/AP
US Rep. Greg Walden, the House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman and one of the stewards of the Republican health care legislation, carries a binder labeled "Essential Health Benefits" as he leaves House Speaker Paul Ryan's office on Capitol Hill on Friday, March 24. The health care bill overhaul was pulled from a floor vote later that day.
President Trump arrives to meet with House Republicans about the new health care legislation at the Capitol on Tuesday, March 21, just days before the bill collapsed.
Photos: The crazy week in Washington
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White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer attends his daily press briefing at the White House on Wednesday, March 22.
Photos: The crazy week in Washington
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
US Rep. Devin Nunes, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, talks to reporters on Capitol Hill on Friday, March 24. Nunes said Paul Manafort, the former campaign chairman for President Trump, has volunteered to be interviewed by committee members regarding allegations of Russian interference in the election. Earlier in the week, the House Intelligence Committee said Nunes apologized to members after he held two public news conferences and personally briefed the President about intelligence information without first consulting any members of the committee.
Photos: The crazy week in Washington
MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images
Neil Gorsuch, Supreme Court nominee, laughs at a senator's joke about his lack of bathroom breaks as he testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, March 21. Gorsuch is President Trump's pick to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia.
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Sen. John McCain winks as he speaks with reporters outside of the Senate chamber on Capitol Hill on Thursday, March 23.
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Steve Bannon, chief strategist for President Trump, leaves a House Republican meeting at the Capitol on Thursday, March 23.
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The Capitol building is seen before sunrise on Friday, March 24.
Trump said he saw Ryan’s point, but there was one more meeting he wanted to wait on. Vice President Mike Pence and Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price were on their way to talk with the Freedom Caucus one more time. Perhaps there would be a breakthrough.
Beyond that, some Trump aides still believed a gamble on the House floor was worth the risk. Publicly, the White House continued to press for a vote, convinced that Republicans would balk at lining up with Democrats to effectively give Obamacare a lifeline.
“It wasn’t so much about shaming members who would vote ‘No’ so much as daring them to do so,” one senior administration official said.
Ryan was adamant the bill could not pass. But Pence, Bannon and Mulvaney were eager to force a vote.
The vice president – whose political radar was honed by years in the House – was particularly convinced that if members were forced into a binary choice, the bill would pass.
“The idea was to call their bluff,” the senior administration official said.
But House leaders and their top aides knew plainly that it was a gross misreading of the temperature on Capitol Hill. It was already too late.
Tempers had been ratcheted to a breaking point by a week of draining internal GOP combat. Sentiment was boiling against the conservatives whom were making Ryan’s life as much of a misery as they had for his predecessor, John Boehner.
“I’ve never seen it as bad as this. People are very angry, and now you have a White House and President who are also very angry,” one leadership aide said.
Ryan – who, along with his trip to the White House, spoke with Trump by phone three times on the bill’s final day – knew there was no chance.
At 3 p.m. on Friday, Ryan made the case once more: The votes weren’t there. Taking the vote to the floor would prove to be a damaging loss.
Even with some of Trump’s most trusted aides still itching for a vote, Ryan broke through to the President. Trump gave Ryan the green light to pull the bill.
Republicans got the news after they were called from the floor for a conference meeting. They filed out quietly afterward, with glum faces. Most just walked by reporters, headed for Friday night flights back to their districts, where they would have to explain their failure to deliver on the most fundamental, oft-repeated promise in successive elections.
There was not much that Ryan could say.
“I will not sugarcoat this, this is a disappointing day for us. Doing big things is hard. All of us. All of us, myself included, we will need time to reflect on how we got to this moment, what we could have done to do it better,” he told reporters.
Then Ryan reached for an explanation that might just leave open the possibility that the Obamacare drama may be a learning experience for his troops.
“We were a 10-year opposition party, where being against things was easy to do. You just had to be against it,” Ryan told reporters.
“And now in three months’ time we tried to go to a governing party where we actually had to get 216 people to agree with each other on how we do things, and we weren’t just quite there today,” he said.
He left the most relevant question to his caucus unanswered.
“Are we willing to say ‘yes’ to the good, the very good, even if it’s not the perfect?” he said.
As Trump settled in for a rare weekend in Washington, his aides were going over just what happened and asking themselves how they could have prevailed.
They fumed at the Freedom Caucus Republicans who made it impossible for a GOP speaker to govern effectively. One senior official said the West Wing may have underestimated “how deep the animosity is in the Republican conference.”
But publicly Trump offered only kind words for Ryan – “He worked very, very hard” – and held his fire on the Freedom Caucus. The President, in a rare show of discipline speaking briefly with reporters from the White House afterward, ventured only so far as to say, “I’m disappointed because we could have had it. So I’m disappointed. I’m a little surprised, to be honest with you.”
The political impact of Friday’s House GOP meltdown is clear.
Trump will almost certainly wrap up his First 100 Days in office next month without a significant legislative achievement.
If Trump’s ego was bruised, his aides aren’t letting on.
“He’s doing great,” Spicer, Trump’s spokesman, insisted late Friday afternoon. He insisted the President firmly believed he’d done all he could to ensure the health care bill passed.
By all accounts, the President endured long meetings with both sides of the Republican divide, using his signature style to try to woo even the most reluctant participants. But even as the White House and Republican leaders repeatedly played up Trump’s engagement, there was often a suspicion – voiced quietly but repeatedly by senior congressional aides involved in the process and at times by many of the rank-and-file lawmakers themselves – that he was not all in.
The President’s lobbying efforts sounded impressive: Face-to-face meetings with more than 120 members of Congress. For good measure, private phone calls with many of them.
But in many of those meetings, details were an afterthought, according to multiple people present.
“Staff was for details, Trump was for closing,” said one senior congressional aide. When it came to details, Trump “didn’t know, didn’t care, or both.”
Photos: Trump's nominees and their confirmation hearings
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Director of National Intelligence —
Vice President Mike Pence, right, administers the oath of office to Dan Coats, the new director of national intelligence, on Thursday, March 16. Coats was accompanied by his wife, Marsha. He was confirmed by the Senate the day before.
Photos: Trump's nominees and their confirmation hearings
Alex Brandon/AP
Director of National Intelligence —
Coats speaks on Capitol Hill before his confirmation hearing in February. The former US senator from Indiana was the US ambassador to Germany in the first term of George W. Bush's administration.
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BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images
Secretary of Energy —
New Energy Secretary Rick Perry speaks at his swearing-in ceremony in Washington on Thursday, March 2. The former Texas governor was confirmed by a Senate vote of 62-37.
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Bill Clark/AP
Secretary of Energy —
Perry is sworn in before his confirmation hearing in January. During his testimony, Perry cast himself as an advocate for a range of energy sources, noting that he presided over the nation's leading energy-producing state. He also said he regrets once calling for the Energy Department's elimination.
Photos: Trump's nominees and their confirmation hearings
Alex Wong/Getty Images
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development —
Ben Carson is joined by his wife, Candy, and his granddaughter Tesora as he is sworn in as the secretary of housing and urban development on March 2. The renowned neurosurgeon and former presidential candidate was confirmed by a vote of 58-41.
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SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development —
Carson greets Tesora prior to testifying before the Senate Committee of Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs in January. In his opening statement, he noted that he was raised by a single mother who had a "third-grade education" and made the case that he understands the issues facing the millions of people who rely on HUD programs.
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Andrew Harnik/AP
Secretary of the Interior —
New Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke signs an official document after he was confirmed by the Senate on Wednesday, March 1. The former congressman from Montana was joined by his wife, Lolita, as well as Vice President Mike Pence, US Sen. Steve Daines and Montana Attorney General Tim Fox.
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JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images
Secretary of the Interior —
Zinke, a former Navy SEAL, is sworn in before his confirmation hearing in January. He pledged to review Obama administration actions that limit oil and gas drilling in Alaska, and he said he does not believe climate change is a hoax.
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Evan Vucci/AP
Secretary of Commerce —
Pence swears in new Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross as Ross' wife, Hilary, stands by on Tuesday, February 28. The billionaire was confirmed by the Senate by a vote of 72-27.
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Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Secretary of Commerce —
Ross, center, waits to be introduced by US Sen. Marco Rubio, right, at his confirmation hearing in January. At the hearing, Ross said he wants countries that resort to "malicious" trading tactics to be "severely" punished. He pointed the finger at China, which he called "the most protectionist country of very large countries."
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Carolyn Kaster/AP
Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency —
Supreme Court justice Samuel Alito swears in Scott Pruitt as the new administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency on Friday, February 17. Holding the Bible is Pruitt's wife, Marlyn, and they were joined by their son, Cade. Pruitt, the former attorney general of Oklahoma, was confirmed by the Senate 52-46.
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J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency —
Pruitt testifies at his confirmation hearing in January. Pruitt said he doesn't believe climate change is a hoax, but he didn't indicate he would take swift action to address environmental issues that may contribute to climate change. He said there is still debate over how to respond.
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Mark Wilson/Getty Images
Director, Office of Management and Budget —
Pence shakes hands with Mick Mulvaney after swearing him in as the new director of the Office of Management and Budget on Thursday, February 16. Mulvaney's wife, Pam, looks on. Mulvaney had been a congressman since 2011.
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Carolyn Kaster/AP
Director, Office of Management and Budget —
Mulvaney testifies before the Senate Budget Committee in January. He didn't back off his views that entitlement programs need revamping to survive -- and he didn't back away from some of his past statements on the matter. President Donald Trump, during his campaign, pledged not to touch Social Security or Medicare.
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Carolyn Kaster/AP
Administrator, Small Business Administration —
Linda McMahon is joined by her six grandchildren as she is sworn in as chief of the Small Business Administration on Tuesday, February 14. McMahon, the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, was confirmed by a vote of 81-19.
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BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images
Administrator, Small Business Administration —
McMahon speaks during her confirmation hearing. She stepped down from her WWE duties in 2009 and ran for the Senate in 2010 and 2012.
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SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
Secretary of Veterans Affairs —
Pence watches David Shulkin, the new secretary of the Veterans Affairs Department, speak at his swearing-in ceremony on February 14. Shulkin was confirmed by a unanimous vote in the Senate.
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Alex Brandon/AP
Secretary of Veterans Affairs —
Shulkin speaks at his confirmation hearing. He was the VA's undersecretary for health, a position in which he oversaw more than 1,700 health care sites across the United States.
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MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images
Secretary of the Treasury —
Trump watches as Steven Mnuchin is sworn in as treasury secretary on Monday, February 13. The Senate vote was 53-47, mostly along party lines.
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J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Secretary of the Treasury —
Mnuchin arrives for his confirmation hearing in January. Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs banker, faced policy questions about taxes, the debt ceiling and banking regulation.
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Andrew Harnik/AP
Secretary of Health and Human Services —
Pence shakes hands with Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price -- who was accompanied by his wife, Betty -- after a swearing-in ceremony on Friday, February 10. Price, a former congressman from Georgia, was confirmed 52-47 in a middle-of-the-night vote along party lines.
Photos: Trump's nominees and their confirmation hearings
Carolyn Kaster/AP
Secretary of Health and Human Services —
Price testifies at his confirmation hearing in January. Price confronted accusations of investing in companies related to his legislative work in Congress -- and in some cases, repealing financial benefits from those investments. Price firmly denied any wrongdoing and insisted that he has taken steps to avoid any conflicts of interests.
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Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP
Attorney General —
Trump watches as Pence administers the oath of office to Attorney General Jeff Sessions in the White House Oval Office on Thursday, February 9. Sessions, one of Trump's closest advisers and his earliest supporter in the Senate, was confirmed by a 52-47 vote that was mostly along party lines. He was accompanied to the swearing-in by his wife, Mary.
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MOLLY RILEY/AFP/Getty Images
Attorney General —
In his wide-ranging confirmation hearing, Sessions pledged to recuse himself from all investigations involving Hillary Clinton based on inflammatory comments he made during a "contentious" campaign season. He also defended his views of the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade ruling on abortion, saying he doesn't agree with it but would respect it.
Photos: Trump's nominees and their confirmation hearings
Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP
Secretary of Education —
Pence swears in Education Secretary Betsy DeVos next to her husband, Dick, on Tuesday, February 7. Pence cast a historic tie-breaking vote to confirm DeVos after the Senate was divided 50-50.
Photos: Trump's nominees and their confirmation hearings
Carolyn Kaster/AP
Secretary of Education —
DeVos, a top Republican donor and school-choice activist,prepares to testify at her confirmation hearing in January. DeVos stood firm in her long-held beliefs that parents -- not the government -- should be able to choose where to send children to school, pledging to push voucher programs if she was confirmed.
Photos: Trump's nominees and their confirmation hearings
Carolyn Kaster/AP
Secretary of State —
Trump watches as Pence swears in Rex Tillerson as secretary of state on Wednesday, February 1. Tillerson's wife, Renda St. Clair, holds the Bible. Tillerson, a former CEO of ExxonMobil, was confirmed in the Senate by a vote of 56 to 43.
Photos: Trump's nominees and their confirmation hearings
Photos: Trump's nominees and their confirmation hearings
Alex Wong/Getty Images
Secretary of Transportation —
Elaine Chao, Trump's pick for transportation secretary, signs the affidavit of appointment during her swearing-in ceremony in Washington on Tuesday, January 31. Chao is joined, from left, by Pence; her father, James Chao; and her husband, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
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Patsy Lynch/MediaPunch/IPx/AP
Secretary of Transportation —
Chao testifies at her confirmation hearing in January. Chao, who was approved by a 93-6 vote, was deputy secretary of transportation under George H.W. Bush and labor secretary under George W. Bush.
Photos: Trump's nominees and their confirmation hearings
Evan Vucci/AP
UN Ambassador —
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley takes the oath of office as she becomes the US Ambassador to the United Nations on Wednesday, January 25. She is joined by US Sen. Marco Rubio and staffer Rebecca Schimsa as she is sworn in by the vice president.
Photos: Trump's nominees and their confirmation hearings
SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
UN Ambassador —
During her confirmation hearing, Haley rapped the UN for its treatment of Israel and indicated that she thinks the US should reconsider its contribution of 22% of the annual budget. "The UN and its specialized agencies have had numerous successes," Haley said. "However, any honest assessment also finds an institution that is often at odds with American national interests and American taxpayers. ... I will take an outsider's look at the institution."
Photos: Trump's nominees and their confirmation hearings
Alex Wong/Getty Images
CIA Director —
Mike Pompeo is joined by his wife, Susan, as he is sworn in as CIA director on Monday, January 23. Pompeo, who is vacating his seat in the US House, was confirmed by the Senate in a 66-32 vote.
Photos: Trump's nominees and their confirmation hearings
JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images
CIA Director —
Pompeo is sworn in at his confirmation hearing. Along with Russia, Pompeo said other global threats include Iran's growing influence in the Middle East, ISIS' grip over major urban areas, and the conflict in Syria.
Photos: Trump's nominees and their confirmation hearings
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Secretary of Defense —
Retired Marine Gen. James Mattis, President Trump's pick for defense secretary, is sworn in after being confirmed by a 98-1 vote on Friday, January 20.
Photos: Trump's nominees and their confirmation hearings
MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images
Secretary of Defense —
Mattis testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee. He emerged from his confirmation hearing with broad support after he took a strong posture against Russian President Vladimir Putin and answered tough questions on women and gays in combat.
Photos: Trump's nominees and their confirmation hearings
JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images
Secretary of Homeland Security —
Retired Marine Gen. John Kelly signs his confirmation letter on January 20. He is joined by his wife, Karen.
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J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Secretary of Homeland Security —
Kelly testifies at his hearing. He was previously the head of US Southern Command, which is responsible for all military activities in South America and Central America.
He didn’t answer their specific questions about the bill, according to three members of Congress who attended the meetings. He didn’t offer any arguments for why they should support the legislation other than to give him his first legislative victory.
Trump repeatedly focused instead on the politics of the broader situation, the people said. In the Oval Office, he quizzed the Republicans about the margin of victory in their districts last fall. His victory, not theirs.
“He did very little to say why we should vote ‘yes,’ ” one Republican member of Congress said, speaking on condition of anonymity to avoid alienating the White House. “He kept talking about his damn election.”
In the end, the man dubbed “the ultimate closer” could not close the deal.
Trump swept into office with soaring crowds and big rallies. But for the biggest legislative fight of his young presidency, he barely mentioned health care as he made only two trips outside Washington to sell the bill. Repealing Obamacare often came off more as a slogan rather than a driving policy proposition. And the legislation Trump was touting, which would’ve insured 24 million fewer Americans over the next decade, bore little resemblance to his campaign trail promises.
His advisers once telegraphed a robust travel schedule, taking his case directly to the heart of Freedom Caucus districts. That never happened.
As a result, there was no one to reassure people concerned about losing coverage – like Jessi Bohon, the Tennessee high school teacher who confronted Rep. Diane Black in a February encounter that went viral on social media, as Bohon defended the individual mandate that requires people to buy insurance under Obamacare.
“As a Christian, my whole philosophy in life is to pull up the unfortunate, so the individual mandate – that’s what it does, the healthy people pull up the sick,” Bohon had said. “We are effectively punishing our sickest people.”
The lawmakers who would be called upon to cast tough votes on a bill no one really liked were coming face-to-face with the fury of public opinion in a way Trump and his advisers never really experienced.
Instead, he visited only urban areas of Nashville and Louisville, where his true believers packed the arena. Yet he railed against health care as though he was still on the campaign trail a year ago, rather than the man now driving the agenda.
“This is our long-awaited chance to finally get rid of Obamacare,” Trump said Monday at Freedom Hall in Louisville, where supporters cheered his arrival. “We’re gonna do it. What’s the alternative? The alternative is what you have. The worst. It’s a big lie.”
Four days later, one of the biggest Republican promises of a decade was dead. The party’s new President, unable to deliver.
The morning after, with his epic failure spread across the pages of newspapers and television screens, the President set off for his golf course in the Virginia countryside.
But unlike failed deals from his old world of business, he can’t walk away from these Republican partners. How they regroup will answer the question of whether his presidency can rebound.
CNN’s Jeremy Diamond, Deirdre Walsh and MJ Lee contributed to this report.
