ABC News(WASHINGTON) — The Democratic leader of the House of Representatives said President Donald Trump “went rogue” with his decisions on ending Obamacare subsidies, changing birth control coverage mandates and decertifying the Iran nuclear deal.
“President Trump went rogue,” House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California told ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos in an exclusive interview on This Week Sunday. “He went rogue on women’s health in particular, the Affordable Care Act, the Iran decision that he made. And … he continues his war on the middle class with his unfair tax plan.”
On Thursday, Trump announced he is ending subsidy payments to health care insurers that help low- and middle-income Americans afford premium costs and other expenses under Obamacare.
The next day, Friday, Trump “decertified” the Iran nuclear agreement but left it up to Congress to decide whether to go further by renewing sanctions on Iran that ended when the deal took effect in 2015.
Pressed by Stephanopoulos about what can be done about these decisions, Pelosi said, “I’ve tried to suggest to him that while we understand our differences, we can find our common ground if we have evidence-based decisions.”
Pelosi referenced two Republican governors, John Kasich of Ohio and Brian Sandoval of Nevada, as being against Trump’s latest health care executive order because it would destabilize the market even more.
“Either the president doesn’t know or he doesn’t care,” said Pelosi.
Stephanopoulos asked Pelosi about fellow California House Democrat Linda Sanchez saying “it’s time for change” and “a new generation of leaders” for the Democratic Party.
Pelosi said she thinks there’s “a great array of talent” in the party that she has “promoted all along the way,” but also noted “it’s up to the caucus to elect its next leadership.”
The Democratic House Leader stressed that she’s not ready to leave government while Obama’s health care system is under attack by the Republican Party.
“The Affordable Care Act, as you know, is very important to me… When the president became the president and I saw the threat to it, I said, ‘I’ve gotta stay to take care of the Affordable Care Act.’ That’s my fight. That’s my mission,” she said.
“What [Trump is] doing is hurting the American people. This isn’t about policy or politics. It’s about the American people.”
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