President Donald Trump also said Friday morning that the proposal “is finally your chance for a great plan!” | Getty Trump slams House Freedom Caucus ahead of repeal vote

After days of negotiations with the House Freedom Caucus over legislation to repeal and replace Obamacare, President Donald Trump lashed out at the GOP’s uncooperative conservative wing Friday morning, telling his millions of Twitter followers that their stubbornness is working in favor of Planned Parenthood.

“The irony is that the Freedom Caucus, which is very pro-life and against Planned Parenthood, allows P.P. to continue if they stop this plan!” Trump wrote on Twitter Friday morning.


The president, who on Thursday demanded an up or down vote for the imperiled White House-backed legislation, also said Friday morning that the proposal “is finally your chance for a great plan!”

“After seven horrible years of ObamaCare (skyrocketing premiums & deductibles, bad healthcare), this is finally your chance for a great plan!” Trump wrote on Twitter in a post that preceded his Planned Parenthood dig.

While the president delivered his social media messages publicly, they seemed aimed squarely at the collection of House Republicans who have said they oppose the repeal-and-replace legislation. A vote on the measure originally scheduled for Thursday was postponed once it became clear that members of the Freedom Caucus, many of whom oppose the bill because it does not go far enough in undoing Obamacare, were not appeased by last minute concessions.

Without Freedom Caucus votes, the healthcare legislation championed by Trump and Republican leadership in the House does not have enough support from Republican rank and file to pass. To make matters worse, legislative concessions to the GOP’s conservative wing have made the bill tougher to swallow for some of the party’s more moderate members. Some, including Reps. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, have said they oppose the bill because they say its cuts are too deep for poor and middle class Americans.

With the GOP’s conservative wing seemingly unwilling to budge on negotiations, Trump opted Thursday night to insist on a House vote Friday, putting Republicans in the position of either backing the repeal-and-replace legislation or explain to their constituents why they voted against a measure that would make good on a promise the GOP has run on for more than seven years. As of Friday morning, it remained unclear whether or not Republicans had the votes.