WASHINGTON — President Trump said Monday that he will abide by the terms of a deal ending the ongoing 41-day government shutdown — but that Republicans will pursue a new plan to replace expiring health insurance subsidies that triggered the funding lapse.
Trump said that the government would fully reopen “very quickly” amid mass-cancelation of flights.
“I’ll abide by the deal. The deal is very good,” the president said when asked about a provision requiring him to re-hire federal workers fired during the shutdown.
The deal assures Democrats of an open vote on extending more generous pandemic-era Affordable Care Act subsidies set to expire Dec. 31.
“We want a health care system where we pay the money to the people instead of the insurance companies,” Trump said in the Oval Office.
“And I tell you, we’re going to be working on that very hard over the next short period of time, where the people get the money. We’re talking about trillions and trillions of dollars, where the people get the money.”
There appears to be enough support in the House to extend the current subsidies, due to a number of Republicans backing an extension, but it’s unclear if enough Senate Republicans could put the benefits over the 60-vote threshold for most legislation.
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