House Speaker Mike Johnson said “massive” reforms to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), known as Obamacare, would be a Republican priority if former president Donald Trump wins the White House.
Johnson made the remark while speaking in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, at a campaign event for GOP House candidate Ryan Mackenzie, according to NBC News. Trump has campaigned on reforming Obamacare in a second Trump term, calling it a “lousy” program.
“Health care reform’s going to be a big part of the agenda. When I say we’re going to have a very aggressive first 100 days agenda, we got a lot of things still on the table,” Johnson said.
When one attendee questioned, “No Obamacare?” Johnson responded: “No Obamacare.”
“The ACA is so deeply ingrained, we need massive reform to make this work, and we got a lot of ideas on how to do that,” the Louisiana Republican added.
Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign attacked the speaker over the comments, accusing him of attempting to repeal the Obama-era healthcare law.
“Health care is on the ballot this November. Speaker Mike Johnson is making it clear – if Donald Trump wins, he and his Project 2025 allies in Congress will make sure there is ‘no Obamacare,’” a campaign spokeswoman said in a statement.
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Johnson pushed back, telling The Hill: “Despite the dishonest characterizations from the Harris campaign, the audio and transcript make clear that I offered no such promise to end ObamaCare, and in fact acknowledged that the policy is ‘deeply ingrained’ in our health care system.”
“Still, House Republicans will always seek to reduce the costs and improve the quality and availability of health care for all Americans. Anyone who has been a patient or known a loved one who has struggled with health issues understands why this is so important,” he added.
Trump attempted to repeal and replace Obamacare during his first term. The push fizzled when a trio of Republican senators – Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, and the late John McCain of Arizona – voted with Democrats to kill the legislation.
Trump used executive orders and riders on other legislation to make piecemeal reforms to the healthcare law, one of the most impactful being the repeal of the individual mandate. A tax bill passed in 2017 scrapped penalties set to take effect in 2019 for people who refused to sign up for the ACA exchanges or pay for private health insurance.
