If you ask House Speaker Paul Ryan and team what popular vote loser Donald Trump thinks about his efforts to tear down our healthcare system, Ryan will tell you that they're on the same page. If you ask the people Ryan needs votes from (no, not the Democrats), they'll say Trump and team are open to negotiation.
Exiting a meeting with former Freedom Caucus member Mick Mulvaney, the Office of Management and Budget director, conservatives suggested the White House isn’t completely sold on the Republican House bill advancing through committees on Wednesday.
“If you look at all the comments from the White House, you will find there is a mixed message,” Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) said Tuesday night. […]
“He informed us of the White House’s position,” he added, getting cagey about what was actually said. […]
Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C), the Freedom Caucus chairman, said Mulvaney let them know that they’re still open to negotiations.
“We heard that directly from him,” Meadows added. “This is not something that is in stone.”
Meadows insisted that the message had been consistent all day Tuesday. “The White House is willing to negotiate,” he said.
This could have something to do with the fact that Mulvaney is more Freedom Caucus member still than Trump team member. The White House definitely helped foment confusion on this Tuesday with plenty of mixed messages about what was happening depending on who was doing the talking—Trump, Vice President Pence, Health Secretary Tom Price, or Mulvaney.
Never mind all that, insists Ryan Wednesday morning, after a full day of rejection.
Maybe if he keeps telling himself that, it'll happen.