It looks like the Republican health care bill is dead, folks.
President Trump and the Republican party have basically built this year on getting rid of Obamacare and replacing it with something “better.” But after so many roadblocks and setbacks, there just aren’t enough votes to make the bill happen.
All the Democrats voted against it (obviously), and Senators Rand Paul and Susan Collins opposed it already. But Tuesday morning, Senators Mike Lee and Jerry Moran released statements saying that they would not vote for the bill, according to The Washington Post.
Ouch! That must hurt for Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, since an upset was not expected this late in the game. After the public’s negative reaction to how many Americans would be uninsured under the bill, and Senator McCain’s surgery, those votes would have been a huge relief for the GOP.
McConnell responded to the failed bill by saying Republicans would attempt to simply repeal Obamacare, without having a replacement plan in place. But that route also seemed destined to fail, with three Republican senators—Susan Collins of Maine, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska—all saying they would not vote for a repeal without a replacement, according to The New York Times. Because McConnell could only afford to lose two votes, already having three proclaimed “No”s means the bill is pretty much dead on arrival.
Oh, and POTUS isn’t too happy either.
We were let down by all of the Democrats and a few Republicans. Most Republicans were loyal, terrific & worked really hard. We will return!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 18, 2017
The Senate must go to a 51 vote majority instead of current 60 votes. Even parts of full Repeal need 60. 8 Dems control Senate. Crazy!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 18, 2017
A majority is a majority, Trump. Maybe he should stop pretending that he doesn’t have an advantage and own up to the fact that they’re just not as unified as they thought.