Trump Threatens To Pull Out Of Iran Nuclear Deal, Plans To Cut Obamacare Subsidies
WASHINGTON (CBSNewYork) -- In an explosive end to the week, President Donald Trump threatened to end the Iran nuclear deal Friday if Congress and U.S. allies can't fix it.
The president also announced he will overhaul Obamacare piece by piece to put an end to federal health subsidies.
"The Iran deal was one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the United States has ever entered into," Trump said in announcing the U.S. will not recertify the deal, saying Iran is not living up to the spirit of the agreement.
"We will not continue down a path whose predictable conclusion is more violence, more terror," he said.
Under the deal, Iran agreed to restrict its nuclear program for at least 10 years in exchange for looser economic sanctions that had crippled its economy. Citing multiple violations of the 2015 deal, the president punted to Congress, giving lawmakers 60 days to decide whether to reimpose sanctions, which could cause Iran to walk away from the deal.
The White House says Congress can also adopt new measures that would keep the deal intact, but include even tougher sanctions should Iran violate terms of the agreement.
"In the event we are not able to reach a solution working with Congress and our allies, then the agreement will be terminated," Trump said.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani blasted the president's speech, saying it was full of insults and baseless allegations.
Also Friday, the president faces new challenges to his Obamacare overhaul.
After congressional Republicans failed to pass a replacement for Obamacare, Trump is taking matters into his own hands, ending $7 billion in health care subsidies to insurers, money that brings down premiums for 6 million Americans.
"What we have to do is come up with great health care," Trump said. "Now, that's what I did partially yesterday -- that's going to cover a big segment. But now, for the rest, we have to come up with quick, whether it's going to be block grants or something else."
The Congressional Budget Office estimates ending those subsidies will push up premiums by 20 percent in 2018.
On Friday, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced that he and other attorneys general are ready to sue Trump to defend the subsidies that will be cut off.
"We are filing a multistate lawsuit to protect New Yorkers' and all Americans' access to quality, affordable health care," Schneiderman said.
