New threat to ObamaCare repeal: Republicans from Clinton districts
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Pragmatic conservatives were holding out Monday as President Trump and House Republican leaders whipped votes for the amended ObamaCare repeal bill.
The focus has been on centrists, who as a faction constitute the lion's share of the current opposition to the package to repeal and replace Obamacare. They're prone to oppose the party on occasion given the competitiveness of their districts. That's especially the case on healthcare reform.
The breadth of the Republicans' political problems on the American Health Care Act could run deeper.
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There is a small but rising number of Republicans who are team players and can be reliably counted on to take tough floor votes who are signaling to the White House and House GOP leaders their dissatisfaction with the latest version of the bill.
Several hail from districts Hillary Clinton won in November, or that were competitive. That puts extra pressure on their vote and offers Trump little in the way of leverage to move them, as they look ahead to 2018.