Republicans want to make it harder for kids to smoke, so now they're waiting on Donald Trump
WASHINGTON _ Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he expects "everybody" to support his bill raising the legal age for cigarette, e-cigarette and vaping product purchases from 18 to 21 _ a major legislative priority for the Kentucky Republican.
But McConnell has yet to receive a guarantee of support from President Donald Trump, who promised to make his position on tobacco sales and vaping known by last week and has not yet delivered.
At a White House luncheon Thursday, Trump heard from select Republican senators about their desire to impose new restrictions on the sales of such products. While the president said earlier this month he would back raising the age for sales, he indicated to lawmakers at the meeting on Thursday he still hasn't made a final decision about what his policy will entail.
"(Trump) invited me and others to provide information to his team on that topic," Sen. Mitt Romney, a Utah Republican, told reporters at the Capitol after the meal, which was not convened exclusively on this subject. "He thought things were interesting and he said 'send them along, we'll look at them.'"
Romney's report adds to the general confusion about where Trump stands on efforts to curb a growing public health crisis surrounding vaping and e-cigarette use among teenagers, specifically. Although Trump said in September that he would ban all flavored vaping products, he now appears to be backing away from those plans.
_McClatchy Washington Bureau
