President Trump on Tuesday warned wayward House Republicans that they would lose their seats when they don't back his health-care plan during a Thursday vote that will be an important test for his young presidency.
The president trekked to Capitol Hill to tout his plan – which Gov. Cuomo later trashed – to conservative members who had mocked the brand new proposed plan as “ObamaCare-lite.”
“Many of you came in around the pledge to repeal and replace ObamaCare. I honestly think a lot of you will lose your seats in 2021 if you do not get this done,” Trump said within the closed-door session, according to sources.
But he sounded upbeat following the meeting, even though Thursday's scheduled vote in the House is expected to become close.
“It was a great meeting. They need a tremendous health-care plan. That is what we have, and there are going to be adjustments to it. But I think we'll obtain the votes,” said the president, Politico reported.
Upstate Rep. Chris Collins, a Trump supporter, seemed to be optimistic.
“I believe if the vote was right now, we would have precisely the number of votes we need to pass,” Collins told The Post.
But a member of the Freedom Caucus disputed Collins' claim.
“If we'd to walk inside and vote right now, it might probably be 20 votes short,” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) a “solid no” vote, told The Post.
In Ny, meanwhile, Cuomo went nuclear on Trump's plan – claiming that “rabid conservatives” in Congress delivered a “drop dead” message to New York by including an amendment that would add $2.3 billion to the state's Medicaid bill starting in 2021.
“The Republican conservative ideology is telling Ny to drop dead,” Cuomo told reporters at his Midtown office.
“President Obama kept Paul Ryan and also the rabid conservatives under control. Now they're unleashed. This really is zealotry.”
Collins and Rep. John Faso added an amendment to the TrumpCare bill requiring their state to get the Medicaid tab for every Ny county – aside from the five boroughs.
Cuomo said the state can't possibly pay out the additional $2.3 billion.
“Do you have an angel, a Medicaid fairy? No,” he said.
Collins and Faso argued the counties could reduce property taxes when they don't have to develop their 13 percent share of Medicaid costs. The feds get 51 percent, as the state now covers the remaining.
The governor said the new bill would jeopardize health care for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers and force hospitals and nursing facilities to shut their doors, resulting in thousands of unemployment.
But Collins said his amendment was a lifesaver for local governments.
“This is a huge win for the constituents. Every year, Albany’s leadership relies on counties to foot the balance for New York state's out-of-control Medicaid costs. Enough is sufficient,” he explained.
Combined with other Medicaid cuts specified by the GOP health-care act and Trump’s budget proposal, New York stands to get rid of nearly $7 billion in Medicaid funds as well as an estimated 2.7 million New Yorkers could be dropped from coverage, based on Cuomo.
Sen. Charles Schumer known as the GOP's willingness to include Collins' amendment political payback to obtain the measure passed.
“The Knickerbocker kickback just rearranges when chairs around the Titanic,” Schumer said in the Capitol.
Mayor de Blasio slammed the amendment that excluded the city from getting state cash for Medicaid because Gotham has it's own income tax.
“It would result in a massive cutback in support for the hospitals as well as for health care overall,” he explained.
