President Donald Trump praised the bipartisan healthcare efforts of Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., during a meeting with Republican senators Tuesday, but also let lawmakers know he was not endorsing the bill, according to The Hill.
President Trump initially praised the Alexander-Murray bill Oct. 12, which would fund cost-sharing subsidies for two years and also loosen ACA regulations for states, before announcing he "could never" support a bill that funded the subsidies.
However, if the bill were to make conservative concessions, President Trump signaled he could support the measure.
"He just encouraged us to continue to work on it. He made it clear that he appreciated what Sen. Alexander was doing," Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., told The Hill.
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, proposed a bill Tuesday that would fund the subsidies while also repealing the ACA's individual and employer insurance mandate. The bill also outlines other conservative measures such as unnamed "pro-life protections" for insurers who wish to receive subsidies, which may appeal to President Trump and conservatives in Congress, but are unlikely to garner any Democratic support.