Politics & Government
Watch Replay: Sean Spicer Speaks On AHCA, Paul Manafort, The Border Wall And More
Spicer addressed questions about Paul Manafort, the health care bill and Rep. Devin Nunes' recent press conference.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer delivered a briefing Wednesday afternoon, discussing the progress of the American Health Care Act, Rep. Devin Nunes' recent comments regarding surveillance of the Trump transition team and the day's attacks in London.
Though Spicer quoted Nunes' comments from the California Republican's press conference earlier in the day, the press secretary said the representative had not yet come to the White House to officially share his information.
Spicer was careful not to make any promises about the GOP's health care bill allowing citizens to keep plans or doctors they currently have. He said that this was the hope but that the administration could not make these promises.
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Asked about unfavorable comments about the bill from conservatives and Republican lawmakers, Spicer said he was confident that the administration was making progress in convincing the House to pass the bill.
"This is the only way to repeal and replace Obamacare," Spicer said, making a stronger statement than he has previously endorsed about there being no alternative to the current bill.
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He later said of the bill: "There is no Plan B. There's Plan A and Plan A."
Sean Spicer: "There is no plan B" on health care bill. "There is plan A, and plan A" — pass it tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/eGpt8CzfdG
— Dan Diamond (@ddiamond) March 22, 2017
On Paul Manafort, a former Trump campaign chairman, Spicer backed off his previous claims that he served a "limited role" in the campaign. Manafort has come under increasing scrutiny for his ties to foreign governments. Spicer acknowledged Wednesday that Manafort had a longer and more significant role in the campaign than he previously recognized but pointed to ostensible ties between Hillary Clinton campaign staff and Russian entities.
While he indicated that the focus on Manafort's past foreign ties was unnecessary, Spicer also noted that he was finally fired, in part, because of the attention paid to his ties to Ukraine.
Spicer said he could not answer whether or not the president would have hired Manafort had he known the extent of his ties to foreign governments, including Russia and its President Vladimir Putin.
"Maybe, maybe not," he said, displaying frustration with the line of questioning.
In response to a question about the president's credibility, Spicer said, "The president has made several promises to the American people, and he's kept them."
Spicer also seemed to brush off concerns that building the president's border wall will require using eminent domain to claim land from American citizens. He noted that this has been done before for similar projects and that everyone should already know that the president is serious about getting the wall built.
Watch a live stream of the proceedings below.
Photo by Alex Wong/Getty News Images/Getty Images
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