White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said in a briefing early Friday afternoon that the Trumpcare vote will still happen in a few hours, even though the prospects for passage are looking grim. Spicer did not deny that House Speaker Paul Ryan says he doesn't have the votes, but that "it's now about the greater good."
When he was asked if Ryan handled this well, he said "the speaker has done everything he can." And what if it doesn't pass? "There's a huge appetite for tax reform." Hmmmm. He also wanted to make sure that Trump "did everything he possibly could" to make this happen. He worked really hard and people are "shocked" at how "detailed oriented" on all this Trump has been. But ultimately, this is the story.
Which puts Ryan in a very difficult position. Forcing his members to vote on this bill, this huge bill, and go on the record—and to have it not pass? That would be a tremendous political blunder. Particularly when Trump has already threatened political payback for any Republicans who vote against him on this.
Trump is asking Ryan to deliver him an enemies list. Ryan has to decide whether he's going to make an enemy of Trump, or jeopardize his speakership by making an enemy out of every member of his conference.
KEEP CALLING. Even if you already called your member of Congress, do it again by calling the Capitol Hill switchboard at (202) 224-3121. Jam the phone lines, urge them to vote NO.