Trump is said to have been personally engaged in building support among fellow Republicans, keen to score his first major legislative win since assuming off in January.
Though still unclear if support was adequate to win passage, House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy said “Big, significant progress” has been made on it.
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Aides say Trump has been working the phones, trying to make good on a key promise to voters: overhauling former President Barack Obama’s signature domestic legislation.
The House bill has been changed several times as Republicans have tried to balance demands by conservatives for a maximum Obamacare rollback with moderates’ worries about angering voters who like parts of the law.
A popular feature of the law lets young people stay on their parents’ plans; another protects people with pre-existing health conditions.
Trump met with two key House Republican moderates, Michigan’s Fred Upton and Missouri’s Billy Long at the White House. Speaking to reporters afterwards, they said Trump has endorsed their plan to add $8 billion over five years to help cover the cost for people with pre-existing illnesses who could otherwise be priced out of insurance markets.
Upton said it seemed likely the bill would pass the House, although Long said Republicans still seemed short of votes.
Even if the bill passes the House, it faces an uphill battle in the Senate, where Republican leader Mitch McConnell has repeatedly said that if the House passes a healthcare bill, the Senate would work on one, but that it would be difficult.
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