Congressional Republicans are facing the prospect of failing this week, in what could be their final bid to repeal ObamaCare, The Hill reports. The Hill comments that it seems more than likely tgat the nine-month odyssey for the Senate Republicans will be unsuccessful, with Senators John McCain and Rand Paul opposed to the measure and Senator Susan Collins strongly against it.
Republicans can afford to just two votes and still put the bill through the Senate in the face of unanimous Democratic opposition. However, they also face a September 30 deadline, and after this week, they will lose the ability to use special budgetary rules on ObamaCare repeal that prevent a Democratic filibuster.
Republican Senators Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy, in efforts to keep their bill alive, made last-minute changes to the legislation over the weekend, which include directing more funding toward states of key hold-out senators.
Senator Susan Collins told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that she had “a number of serious reservations” about Cassidy and Graham’s bill, which would end ObamaCare’s expansion of Medicaid and repeal much of the law, replacing it with block grant funding to be delivered to states.
Senator Ted Cruz also said that as the bill now stood, he would be a “no” vote, as would fellow conservative Senator Mike Lee. Cruz added that together with Lee, they want changes made that they believe would lower premium costs. It’s a surprise position for the GOP, which had high hopes about repeal after President Donald Trump won the White House, leaving Republicans in control of both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue, The Hill adds.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has come under enormous pressure to make progress on ObamaCare repeal from Trump, who was furious when McCain voted down a slimmed-down version of repeal in July.
Trump and McConnell also have plenty of stake this week in Alabama, where Senator Luther Strange is facing a tougher primary challenge from conservative Roy Moore, a former state Supreme Court justice.
A strange defeat coupled with another loss on ObamaCare threatens to sink the Trump-McConnell relationship to a new low, which just adds to the pressure of the week, The Hill adds.
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