GOP pollster says there could be bipartisan progress on health care, infrastructure

This article originally appeared on The Hill

Republican pollster Conor Maguire said in an interview that aired Tuesday on “What America’s Thinking” that there could be room for Republicans and Democrats to work together on health care and infrastructure in the new Congress.

“No one wants to concede anything or actually have a conversation,” Maguire, a senior client strategist at WPA Intelligence, told Hill.TV’s Joe Concha on Monday, referring to the status quo between Republicans and Democrats.

“I think [health care] is a great place for [both parties to work together],” he continued. “Infrastructure as well. They’re great targets, and they fit in with a lot of what Republicans did talk about in the midterms, and what the president has been speaking about.”

“I think it’s good to start these conversations even if they do start as arguments,” he said.

Maguire’s comments come after health care was thrust back onto the national stage last week when a federal judge in Texas sided with 20 Republican attorneys general who argued that the Affordable Care Act, also known as ObamaCare, is unconstitutional because Congress has repealed the penalty for the law’s individual mandate.

The Trump administration has not defended ObamaCare against the lawsuit, while Republican lawmakers have largely kept their distance from the ruling, and have voiced their support for protecting people with pre-existing conditions.

— Julia Manchester