GOP governors gather amid push for 'disruptive change'

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The country's Republican governors are meeting in battleground Florida with what many of them see as an opportunity for "disruptive" changes to wrest power from Washington and rework health care following the election of Donald Trump.

Wisconsin's Scott Walker, the incoming chairman of the Republican Governors Association, said Tuesday on MSNBC that Trump elevates "the possibilities in terms of what we can do to take power out of Washington and send it back to the states" and more importantly "back to the people."

Trump perhaps owes no governor more than Walker, a onetime rival of the GOP presidential nominee who ended up endorsing the billionaire. Walker's state had been thought to be a Democratic firewall, but for the first time since 1984, Wisconsin voted for a Republican president and helped Trump win the White House.

Walker said the federal government's focus should be on "fixing and maintaining our existing infrastructure" not "grandiose" high speed rail lines, for example.

According to the Pew Research Center poll after the election, people agree that fixing the nation's roads, bridges and other infrastructure should be a postelection priority. The survey of Clinton and Trump voters also believe drug addiction is another big problem.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott called on his fellow Republicans to help Trump bring "disruptive change" to Washington. For Scott, that means a complete repeal of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, a point echoed by Vice President-elect Mike Pence, who met privately with many of the GOP governors on Monday evening.

Scott has been vague about what should be done about the 20 million Americans who got health insurance through the overhaul. During an interview Tuesday, he also did not offer opinions on what should happen in states that expanded Medicaid coverage as part of the overhaul, saying each state would have to make that decision on their own.

Scott backed Trump after he won the Florida primary in March and eventually headed up a super PAC that ran ads praising Trump and criticizing Clinton. He said that Trump's victory will give him a "partner" who can help on everything from health care to paying for repairs to the aging dike that holds up Lake Okeechobee.

"I'm very optimistic," Scott said. "I think he's going to be good for Florida and for the country."

Scott said he has already talked to Trump three times since the election.

While Scott was a firm backer of Trump before the election, other governors expected to attend this week's conference had differing opinions over Trump.

New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, the nation's only Latina governor, refused to endorse Trump but did congratulate him after he won.

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AP writer Laurie Kellman contributed to this report.

Copyright Associated Press. All rights reserved.

The Gayly - 11/15/2016 @ 12:54 p.m. CST.