LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - The Latest on Vice President Mike Pence’s visit to Kentucky (all times local):
5:45 p.m.
Vice President Mike Pence says the revised health care bill being offered by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will “begin the end” of former President Barack Obama’s health care law.
Pence traveled to GOP-friendly Kentucky on Wednesday to say he wanted to “turn up the heat” on Republicans to fulfill their pledge to uproot Obama’s health care law.
Speaking at a small business in Lexington, Pence sent a clear message to Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul as the Senate prepares to debate the updated health care bill that McConnell plans to introduce Thursday.
Pence told supporters that he and President Donald Trump believe that Paul will join McConnell, his fellow Kentuckian, in supporting the legislation to repeal and replace Obama’s law.
Paul has been among a group of Republicans who have blocked a Senate vote on health care, saying the initial Senate bill didn’t do enough to repeal Obamacare, and he has yet to see language that accomplishes that. Paul’s office says the Kentuckian looks forward to working with Trump and Pence on a “real repeal bill.”
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1:20 p.m.
Vice President Mike Pence is traveling to GOP-friendly Kentucky as Senate Republicans continue their internal wrangling on health care legislation.
The Bluegrass state is among those with the most at stake as Republicans seek to repeal and replace President Barack Obama’s health care law.
Pence plans to join Republican Gov. Matt Bevin in Lexington for a meeting with Kentuckians who say they’ve been hurt by the Affordable Care Act.
Kentucky Republicans say the law is on a “downward spiral” and welcomed Pence’s visit as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell tries to orchestrate its overhaul.
But former Gov. Steve Beshear says the event is another example of President Donald Trump’s administration “choosing to put politics over people.”
Beshear, a Democrat, has been among the biggest advocates for Obama’s law, which he used to expand health care coverage to many more Kentuckians.
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