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House Speaker Mike Johnson promised if former President Donald Trump returns to the White House, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will be getting an overhaul.

The Louisiana Republican said “massive” reforms to what is commonly known as Obamacare will be on the agenda in a second Trump administration but later offered a statement to clear up “mischaracterizations” of his remarks by Democrats.

“Healthcare reform’s going to be a big part of the agenda. When I say we’re going to have a very aggressive first 100 days agenda, we got a lot of things still on the table,” Johnson said at a campaign event for GOP House candidate Ryan Mackenzie.

“No Obamacare?” asked one attendee at the Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, event in a clip that the Harris campaign was happy to post online.

“No Obamacare,” Johnson replied. “The ACA is so deeply ingrained, we need massive reform to make this work, and we got a lot of ideas on how to do that.”

In the question-and-answer interaction, Johnson noted that Republicans in Congress would work to “take government bureaucrats out of the healthcare equation.”

“We want to take a blowtorch to the regulatory state. These agencies have been weaponized against the people. It’s crushing the free market; it’s like a boot on the neck of job creators and entrepreneurs and risk takers. And so health care is one of the sectors, and we need this across the board,” Johnson said. “And Trump’s going to go big. I mean, he’s only going to have one more term. Can’t run for re-election. And so he’s going to be thinking about legacy, and we’re going to fix these things.”

Former President Trump has made no secret of his disdain for the ACA, vowing to replace it with a better system if he returns to the White House. Democrats have continued to fearmonger over his pledge to overhaul the signature health policy of former President Barack Obama.

Harris’ campaign attacked Johnson and accused him of wanting to repeal the ACA.

“Healthcare is on the ballot this November. Speaker Mike Johnson is making it clear – if Donald Trump wins, he and his Project 2025 allies in Congress will make sure there is ‘no Obamacare,’” campaign spokesperson Sarafina Chitika said in a statement.

The speaker shot back with a statement of his own, calling out the Harris campaign for its “dishonest characterizations” of his remarks.

“Despite the dishonest characterizations from the Harris campaign, the audio and transcript make clear that I offered no such promise to end ObamaCare, and in fact acknowledged that the policy is ‘deeply ingrained’ in our healthcare system,” Johnson said in a statement to The Hill.

“Still, House Republicans will always seek to reduce the costs and improve the quality and availability of health care for all Americans. Anyone who has been a patient or known a loved one who has struggled with health issues understands why this is so important,” he added.

Harris’ campaign spokesperson again fired back after Johnson’s statement.

“Mike Johnson probably didn’t mean to give the American people a sneak peek of his and Donald Trump’s Project 2025 plans to rip away healthcare coverage, jack up costs for millions of Americans, and eliminate protections for preexisting conditions,” Chitika claimed. “But voters heard it from his own mouth: If Trump wins there will be ‘no Obamacare,’ plain and simple. We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.”

Trump’s national Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital, “This is not President Trump’s policy position.”

“As President Trump has said, he will make our healthcare system better by increasing transparency, promoting choice and competition, and expanding access to new affordable healthcare and insurance options.”

A Johnson spokesperson told Fox News Digital “The characterization of his remarks by the Harris campaign is false and not substantiated by the audio.”

“Harris’ desperation now has her lying about Speaker Johnson,” the spokesperson added, saying it’s “clear that the Speaker made no such promise.”

Frieda Powers
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