"If we lower premiums — and, hopefully, lower them a lot — that's a victory for the American people," Cruz said. | AP Photo Cruz: I negotiated health care at Mar-a-Lago

Sen. Ted Cruz said Sunday he spent three hours at the Mar-a-Lago estate of his former rival on Saturday, negotiating with President Donald Trump's team on changes to the Republican health care bill.

The Texas Republican said on CBS' "Face the Nation" that he went to the Florida estate with Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) to talk with "the president's team."


"I have got to tell you, I am spending night and day meeting with House members, meeting with senators, meeting with the administration," Cruz said. "Just yesterday, I spent three hours at Mar-a-Lago with ... Mike Lee and Mark Meadows negotiating with the president's team, trying to fix this bill."

Cruz didn't say what specifically he talked about with Trump's staff, other than that they discussed ways to lower costs for consumers.

"If we lower premiums — and, hopefully, lower them a lot — that's a victory for the American people," Cruz said. "If premiums keep going up, that's a victory for insurance companies and lobbyists, but it's a loss for the people who elected us."

Cruz said he's also had "multiple conversations" with Vice President Mike Pence on the subject.