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Republicans on Capitol Hill are coming to the Trump administrations defense after the new president declared over the weekend he has a running war with the media.

President Trump and White House press secretary Sean Spicer inaccurately claimed over the weekend that Friday's inauguration was the most-attended in history in defiance of all available data, including aerial photographs, TV ratings and statistics from Washington's Metro system.

But that didn't stop House Science Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) from taking the House floor Monday night to claim the media would cover Trump differently if he werent a Republican.

"No, the national liberal media wont print that or air it or post it. Better to get your news directly from the president. In fact, it might be the only way to get the unvarnished truth, he concluded.

Smith delivers House floor speeches at least once a week criticizing the mainstream media. Earlier this month, he denounced a New York Times column describing the impact of droughts in Africa believed to be exacerbated by climate change as fake news.

His comments on the House floor reflected a similar sentiment expressed earlier in the day by Spicer, who at the White House press briefing said the "negative" media coverage is "demoralizing."

"Its not just about a crowd size. Theres this constant theme to undercut the enormous support he has," Spicer said of Trump. "And its unbelievably frustrating when youre continually told its not big enough, its not good enough. You cant win."

Rep. Mark Walker (R-N.C.), chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee, argued the Trump team's claims were simply commentary on media coverage.

"I think they are trying to make a case when the press is saying something, dont necessarily take it at face value. Just like hes done to other elected officials," Walker said during a briefing with reporters in his Capitol Hill office on Monday.

When asked if it could be problematic for GOP policy priorities if Trump can't stay on message, Walker acknowledged that "it may be at some point."

But Walker suggested that Trump needed some time to adjust to the office for which he campaigned over the course of more than a year.

"Youre talking about someone who transitioned out of a different world where he was basically in charge of everything," Walker said. "There is a learning curve. Now, when you talk about discipline of message, thats part of what I would say is a political maturation.

"This is a new place in understanding the parameters that our founding fathers laid out many years ago."

Not all Republicans are siding with Trump on the issue.

Earlier Monday, Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) acknowledged the Trump administration had gotten off to a rocky start. He sympathized with the Trump teams sense of media bias, but warned they shouldnt try to promote falsehoods.

"There's a big danger, because there's one thing to push back against perceived media bias as Republicans, we like to see that. It's another thing to come out and say that a fact is only a fact if it fits into your world view," Kinzinger said.

"The campaign way of doing things could get very old if, in fact, this becomes what the new president's team is. I would definitely discourage them from using the term 'alternative facts' again, he said, referring to a term coined by Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway during an interview with NBCs Chuck Todd on Sunday.

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Republicans defend Trump on media coverage - The Hill (blog)

Wall Street Journal

Some Republicans Wary of Repealing ACA Without Replacement Plan Wall Street Journal WASHINGTONSenate Republicans' narrow margin of power creates plenty of questions for leaders tasked with steering through the party's repeal of the 2010 Affordable Care Act. High on the list: What does Susan Collins want? Sen. Collins, a Maine ... The Republicans Own Obamacare Now. How Many People Will They Let Suffer?New York Magazine Why are Republicans so happy to take away healthcare?Los Angeles Times Republican Plan To Replace Obamacare Would Turn Medicaid Over To StatesNPR New York Times -Washington Post -Bloomberg all 1,341 news articles »

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Some Republicans Wary of Repealing ACA Without Replacement Plan - Wall Street Journal

The Hill (blog)

Republicans race to find ACA repeal compromise Sacramento Bee President Donald Trump wants Congress to move quickly this week to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, but congressional Republicans are far from consensus on a repeal-and-replace effort that won't leave millions of their constituents without insurance. This week: Congressional Republicans prepare to huddle with TrumpThe Hill (blog) Cautious welcome from congressional Republicans to Trump eraLas Vegas Sun Republicans are in charge, so let's work on the national debtChicago Tribune KPVI News 6 -Washington Examiner (blog) all 57 news articles »

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Republicans race to find ACA repeal compromise - Sacramento Bee

Ohio Governor John Kasich at a White House event in Nov. 2016. in Washington, DC. President Obama hosted the Cavaliers to honor their 2016 NBA championship. Cheriss May/NurPhoto via Getty Images hide caption

Ohio Governor John Kasich at a White House event in Nov. 2016. in Washington, DC. President Obama hosted the Cavaliers to honor their 2016 NBA championship.

As Congressional Republicans begin work on repealing the Affordable Care Act, many of the nation's governors want to make sure that their state budgets don't take a hit during the dismantling process.

They're most concerned about Medicaid, the health insurance program for the poor that's run jointly by the states and federal government. As a result of a Supreme Court decision, states were allowed to decide whether they would expand Medicaid under the ACA. 14 million people have gained health insurance coverage through Medicaid since eligibility for the program was expanded.

While 19 states declined the expansion, primarily due to the opposition of Republican governors and lawmakers, several Republican governors did choose to expand the program. Now they're lobbying to keep their citizens covered and billions of dollars of federal Medicaid money flowing.

Among them is Ohio Gov. John Kasich who, along with several other Republican governors, met with GOP members of the Senate Finance Committee last week for a closed-door discussion about the healthcare law.

Kasich has been anything but quiet on the subject.

In a letter to Congressional leaders, Kasich recommended that Medicaid expansion not be repealed, while indicating he's open to some changes, such as in income eligibility. Kasich urged Congress in an op-ed on Time.com to pass an Obamacare replacement at the same time as a repeal.

"For the millions of Americans who have gained health coverage since 2010, it's safe to assume that their idea of fixing Obamacare does not involve ripping away their own health care coverage without a responsible alternative in place," wrote Kasich.

'If I had to pay for my medical costs, I wouldn't be taking no medicine'

Evelyn Johnson is among those who would be affected were the ACA repeal to also roll back the Medicaid. She sat in the back of the cafeteria at a social services drop-in center in Cleveland last week as a pair of healthcare navigators made calls to help people sign up for Medicaid.

"So far I've got a pair of glasses. They're going to do my teeth," she said of the benefits she's received since getting health insurance.

Johnson, who lives with a friend, does not have children and works as a babysitter, would not have been eligible for state-backed insurance before the Medicaid expansion, when it was limited largely to low-income children, parents and people with disabilities.

Now, anyone whose income is at or below 138 percent of the federal poverty line, about $16,000 a year for a single person, is eligible.

Without insurance, Johnson said she would not able to afford the prescription drugs she needs.

"If I had to pay for my medical costs, I wouldn't be taking no medicine," she said. "There's no way. I take too many pills."

Around 700,000 Ohioans have signed up for expanded Medicaid since January 2014. Since the Affordable Care Act came into effect, Ohio's uninsured rate has fallen to 6.5 percent from 15 percent in 2012.

Unpopular position with Republicans

Kasich's decision to expand Medicaid was unpopular with Republicans. He fought his own party and sidestepped the state legislature to get the expansion done.

At an event with business leaders earlier this month, Kasich argued it's been a good deal for the state.

"If they don't get coverage, they end up in the emergency room, they end up sicker, more expensive. I mean, we pay one way or the other," Kasich said. "And so this has been a good thing for Ohio."

Also defending their decisions to expand Medicaid are such Republican governors as Rick Snyder of Michigan, Brian Sandoval of Nevada and Gary Herbert of Utah.

"So if all of a sudden, that goes away, what do we tell these 700,000 people? We're closed? Can't do that," Kasich said at the business event.

Medicaid covers about one in four people here in Ohio. If the expansion is rolled back, it will mean fewer payments to doctors and hospitals.

"You pull on one thread, you topple the whole tower," said John Corlett, who ran the Medicaid program in Ohio under the previous Democratic governor.

"There's nothing to say that the program can't be improved, that it can't be made better," Corlett, who now runs a think tank in Cleveland called the Center for Community Solutions said. "But just to say we're going to get rid of all of it, and then we'll figure out how to make it better, I think would be really disruptive. It'd be disruptive to healthcare providers, to patients, to insurance companies."

Changes coming?

Even if the Medicaid expansion remains, the new Trump administration may make major changes to it in the future.

Last year, Ohio asked the federal government to require beneficiaries to pay into health savings accounts, a request the federal government denied.

"I think that with the constellation in Washington the way that it is, that there's going to be an awful lot of opportunities," said Greg Lawson, a senior policy analyst with the Buckeye Institute, a conservative think tank in Ohio that opposed expansion.

Lawson would like to see limits on federal spending per state, and hopes Ohio will be able to add a work requirement for some beneficiaries.

"I don't think you're going to see the light switch probably just get turned, and one day it's all going to just disappear," he said. "I think what you're more likely to see is major structural changes to the program that over time that will have budgetary impacts."

But it's not clear yet what shape those changes will takeor whether the governor who expanded Medicaid here will support them.

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Meet The Republican Governors Who Don't Want To Repeal All Of Obamacare - NPR

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Based On A Myth, Republicans Risk Leading Off With A Big Tax Increase - Forbes