WASHINGTON D.C. – U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, joined reporters on a conference call Tuesday afternoon to discuss the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, among other issues.

An unprecedented number of Representatives, nearly 60 at last count, plan to boycott the inauguration in a sign of protest, including U.S. Rep. Marcia Fudge, , D-Ohio, of Cleveland. Not even the unpopular defeat of Al Gore by George W. Bush through a Supreme Court decision brought this kind of outcry. But Portman said that he thinks it’s “important to come together at these events.”

Portman said he was optimistic for the Trump administration, and that he looks forward to working on tax reform and replacing the Affordable Care Act, as well as being “hopeful for opportunities to make real progress in job creation.”

“Families in Ohio are just looking for a way to get ahead,” Portman said, stating that one reason they can’t is because of a need to reform the current tax code.

Portman blamed the slow economic recovery from the recession that began under President Bush on President Obama’s Affordable Care Act and what he sees as problems in the tax code that keep businesses from growing.

“We’re in the weakest economic recovery ever,” Portman said. “I think a lot has to do with the tax code and health care (keeping employers from expanding).”

Portman said that he was “looking forward to replacing the ACA.” He said that the process was just getting started, however, and that they needed to make sure that people were taken care of during the transition.

Because the unpopular individual mandate helps offset the costs of healthcare by spreading the risks, some critics say repealing the ACA and not replacing it could actually add to the deficit, as well as individual debt. When asked if there was a chance that they could replace the ACA and never come up with a substitute plan, Portman told reporters, “I don’t think that’s possible.”

He explained that the Senate has discussed keeping the popular provision that prohibits insurance from denying coverage for a preexisting condition. He explained that the way he envisioned it, the current law would remain in effect until a new health care plan was ready, and then there would be a transition.

Portman didn’t answer questions about Trump’s controversial choice for Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, and whether she should be appointed unless she pays the $5.3 million in fines that she owes to the state of Ohio. DeVos owes the state fines and fees reaching back to 2008, when her All Children Matter PAC was cited for campaign finance violations. U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio,  joined those in calling for DeVos to pay the fines before her confirmation hearings begin. But while Portman avoided specific questions about DeVos, he did say that he felt the president should “be given the benefit of the doubt” in whom they choose to appoint, adding that despite that, he “also believes a rigorous, fair process” is appropriate.