White House OK with removing Obamacare mandate repeal from Senate tax bill

White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Mick Mulvaney speaks to reporters outside the White House in Washington, U.S. October 4, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst·Reuters· (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump would not object to removing a provision in a Senate Republican tax plan that would repeal the Obamacare mandate if it "becomes an impediment," White House budget director Mick Mulvaney said on Sunday.

Some Republican senators who have been critical of the plan warned that some middle-income taxpayers could see tax cuts wiped out by higher health insurance premiums if the repeal of the Affordable Care Act’s mandate goes through.

"If we can repeal part of Obamacare as part of a tax bill ... that can pass, that's great," Mulvaney said on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday. "If it becomes an impediment to getting the best tax bill we can, then we are OK with taking it out."

(Reporting by Valerie Volcovici; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)

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