But for now, he’s pressing his case behind closed doors. Cruz met privately with Vice President Mike Pence Wednesday – Pence posted a photo of the two on Twitter – before bringing his family to the White House for dinner with Trump…

Cruz hasn’t shied away from his concerns with the legislation. He takes issue with the structure of tax credits included to help people afford insurance, saying he doesn’t think “creating new entitlements is the right approach.” He said the Medicaid expansion should freeze enrollment immediately, not in 2020 as is currently written. And he advocated for a block grant approach to Medicaid, rather than the per capita allotment in the House legislation.

“With respect to Medicaid, I think the House bill makes meaningful progress on reforming Medicaid, but I think we need to do a lot more,” he said.

But as to how all of these issues can be fixed to earn his support, he mostly demurred, stressing that each of those components, and others, are “among the many topics that will continue to be debated vigorously.”