Deirdre Shesgreen

USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Longtime Trump critic and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, two days after trying to mend fences at the White House, turned on Sunday to Republicans on Capitol Hill, saying that hard-line members of his own party in the House could be the biggest obstacle to passing an Obamacare replacement law.

During an appearance on CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” Kasich said they would probably push to “just get rid of the whole thing,” even if that resulted in 20 million people losing their insurance.

“I think there are some very conservative Republicans in the House who are going to say just get rid of the whole thing,” Kasich said during the interview. “And that's not acceptable when you have 20 million people” who gained insurance under the Affordable Care Act.

One of those arch conservatives — Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, founder of the House Freedom Caucus –responded to Kasich during his own TV appearance on Sunday. Jordan said Republicans promised full repeal of the law, not tweaks or fixes as some are now advocating.

"Well, we didn't tell the American people we're going to repeal it, except we're going to keep the Medicaid expansion," Jordan said on ABC's "This Week." "We didn't tell the American people we're going to repeal it, except we're going to keep some of the tax increases that some are talking about. We told them we were going to repeal it and replace it with a market-centered, patient-centered plan that actually brings back affordable health insurance."

The clash between Kasich and Jordan highlights a broader divide among Republicans over the health care law. Some moderate Republicans are leaning toward "repairing" the health law and leaving in place key provisions, while conservatives like Jordan want it completely nixed.

One of the biggest flashpoints is the Medicaid expansion, which Kasich pushed through in Ohio and which has allowed 700,000 low-income residents in the state to gain insurance coverage.

Kasich has urged congressional Republicans to preserve some version of Medicaid expansion provisions in the GOP replacement bill. But House Republicans have drafted a plan that calls for a rollback of the Medicaid expansion and a phase-out of federal subsidies to help low-income individuals purchase insurance.

Kasich blasted that proposal on Friday as "inadequate" and "unacceptable" and said on CBS Sunday that he would fight his party if Republicans take that route.

"Republicans can go and do what they want, and I'm going to talk to them," he said, according to a transcript of the interview released before the show. "But at the end of the day, I'm going to stand up for the people that wouldn't have the coverage if they don't get this thing right.

"And I happen to believe that the best way to get this right over time is for actually both parties to work together. I know that's considered an impossibility now, but what's at stake is not some political thing. What's at stake here are 20 million Americans."

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