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Join Telegram ChannelEXCLUSIVE: Former President Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., are not promising to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as part of Republicans' 2025 policy plan, the leader suggested from the House GOP to Fox News Digital.
“Despite the Harris campaign's disingenuous characterizations, the audio and transcript make clear that I offered no promises to end ObamaCare and in fact acknowledged that this policy is 'deeply rooted' in our system health,” Johnson told Fox News Digital. .
“Nevertheless, House Republicans will always seek to reduce costs and improve the quality and availability of health care for all Americans. Anyone who has been a patient or known a loved one struggling with health issues understand why it's so important.”
This comes amid an avalanche of accusations from Democrats that Republicans want to end the ACA, better known as ObamaCare.
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President Mike Johnson responds to Harris campaign accusing him of wanting to end ObamaCare (Getty Images)
“This is not President Trump's policy position,” Trump's national press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital.
“As President Trump has said, he will improve our health care system by increasing transparency, promoting choice and competition, and expanding access to new affordable health care and insurance options.”
A spokesperson for Johnson told Fox News Digital on Wednesday that the president's position “is consistent with that of President Trump.”
Trump himself has not proposed a detailed health care agenda for the 2024 race.
A video of Johnson telling Pennsylvania voters, “Health care reform will be a big part of the agenda” if Republicans win the White House and Congress, went viral Tuesday.
Towards the end of the clip, shared with NBC News, someone can be heard asking: “No ObamaCare?”
Johnson appeared to repeat the question: “No ObamaCare?” then explained, “The ACA is so deeply entrenched that we need massive reform to make it work, and we have a lot of ideas on how to make it happen.”
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Former US President Donald Trump's campaign team said that was not their political position when asked about Johnson's remarks in the NBC News video. (Cornell Watson)
“If you take government bureaucrats out of the health care equation and have doctor-patient relationships, it's better for everyone, more efficient, more effective. That's the free market. Trump will be for the free market,” Johnson said. . “We want to take the blow to the regulatory state.”
Democrats interpreted Johnson's remarks as saying Republicans would end ObamaCare and seized the opportunity.
“Health care will be on the agenda in November. President Mike Johnson is making it clear: If Donald Trump wins, he and his Project 2025 allies in Congress will make sure there are no ObamaCare.” “This means higher health care costs for millions of families and the removal of protections for Americans with pre-existing conditions like diabetes, asthma or cancer,” the Harris campaign spokeswoman said Tuesday evening. , Sarafina Chitika.
This was followed by a similar statement from the campaign arm of House Democrats on Wednesday morning.
“If Mike Johnson himself is to be believed, the choice before voters in this election is clear: Democrats who will fight to lower health care costs and expand access to affordable health care or Republicans who want to raise drug costs and deny health insurance to millions of Americans,” said Viet Shelton, spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC).
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The late Senator John McCain was one of three Republican senators who blocked their party from repealing the ACA in 2017. (Alex Wong/Getty Images for Meet the Press)
Johnson's spokesperson told Fox News Digital “the Harris campaign's characterization of his remarks is false and not supported by the audio.”
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“Harris's desperation now drives her to lie about President Johnson,” the spokesperson also said, adding that the evidence shows “clearly that the President made no such promises.”
Republicans unsuccessfully attempted to repeal the ACA during Trump's first term.
A vote in the then-GOP-controlled Senate in 2017 failed when three Republican senators — including, notably, the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. – voted with Democrats against this measure.