Republicans Throw In The Towel: Senate Will Not Vote On Obamacare Repeal Bill
by Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge.com
Sep 26, 2017
With the Republicans Obamacare repeal effort having died no less than three times over the few days, on Tuesday afternoon Republicans announced the Senate would not vote on Republicans’ last-ditch bill to repeal Obamacare, putting an end to their seven-year push for now. According to Politico, the decision was reached at a party lunch Tuesday after it became clear the plan would fail. Three Senate Republicans had already said they would vote against the measure, and the GOP could only afford two defections.
“We don’t have the votes so it’s probably best we don’t do the vote,” said Republican Sen. Steve Daines of Montana. “We’ve lost this battle, but we’re going to win the war.”
“Why have a vote if you know what the outcome is and it’s not what you want. I don’t know what you gain from that. But I do believe that the health care issue is not dead, and that’s what counts,” said GOP Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama. “We’ve got some time this year to deal with it and I think we have to.”
Vice President Mike Pence told Republicans they should keep working on health care and not give up just because a key procedural deadline to pass the bill with a simple majority expires after Sept. 30.
“He does” want us to keep working,” said Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.). “He’s conveyed it outside of that meeting [too]. The votes aren’t there so let’s keep massaging.” However, Republicans may not opt to pursue a health care overhaul and tax code rewrite simultaneously, as some GOP lawmakers desire. Sen. Pat Toomey said it’s it’s better to “focus on taxes right now.”
Earlier, Ted Cruz acknowledged his conference does not have the 50 Republican votes necessary to muscle the bill through the Senate. “There’s more work to be done. I mean we don’t yet have 50 votes. I think we’re close and we need to continue working,” he said.
The hail mary legislation sponsored by Sens. Bill Cassidy and Lindsey Graham would dismantle ObamaCare’s insurance subsidy program and Medicaid expansion and convert their funding into block grants to states.
Senate Republicans considered holding a vote they knew was doomed to fail to show the conservative grass roots and the broader party that they did all they could to dismantle the law. But there was also concern about the optics of going ahead with a failed vote. Republicans are also privately worried that President Donald Trump could continue to attack them if they give up on the effort publicly. Still, they said that they will continue to work on health-care reform, even though they will likely miss the Sept. 30 deadline for the special reconciliation bill that would allow them pass legislation with a simple majority vote.
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