Politics

Senate may ‘jam’ health-care bill through really fast after House passage: Kudlow

Key Points
  • Sources say Freedom Caucus Chair Mark Meadows is in negotiations with Sen. Susan Collins on health-care bill, R-Maine, according to Larry Kudlow.
  • If the House can get a vote soon, it may not take "weeks and weeks" to go through the Senate, Kudlow said.
Healthcare could get jammed through Senate really fast: Kudlow
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Healthcare could get jammed through Senate really fast: Kudlow

Once the House passes the Republican health-care bill, it could become law very quickly, Larry Kudlow said on Thursday.

According to sources, Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows has "been in discussion and successfully negotiating" with Sen. Susan Collins, a moderate Republican from Maine, and they have been agreeing on a number of issues, Kudlow reported.

"So for the first time, as this person reported to me, if the House can get a vote next week or soon after, the Senate may jam it right through fast. It won't take weeks and weeks and weeks," the senior CNBC contributor said on "Closing Bell."

The GOP has a new plan to repeal and replace Obamacare that aims to bridge the gap between the conservative Freedom Caucus and moderates, according to a document obtained by CNBC. A Freedom Caucus source told CNBC the new health bill would get "very close" to 216 votes.

President Donald Trump told reporters on Thursday afternoon he believes there is a "good chance" of getting the bill passed soon.

"I'd like to say next week, but I believe we will get it and whether it's next week or shortly thereafter," Trump said during a joint press conference with Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni.

However, GOP aides told CNBC they doubted a vote could happen as soon as Wednesday, which is what the White House wants.

A discussion is expected via conference call on Saturday.

—CNBC's Jacob Pramuk, Berkeley Lovelace Jr. and Kayla Tausche contributed to this report.