President Trump implied Monday that a bill described as Republicans’ last hope to repeal Obamacare would fall short in the Senate.
“We’re going to lose two or three votes and that’s the end of that,” he said on the “Rick & Bubba” radio show on Monday.
Trump made the remarks on the “Rick & Bubba” radio show in Alabama Monday.
He said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, is likely to be a “no” on an Obamacare overhaul bill led by Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. If so, she would become the third Republican to oppose the bill, joining Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and John McCain of Arizona.
The GOP can afford to lose only two Republicans from its 52-48 majority since Vice President Mike Pence can break a 50-50 tie. Republicans are using a budget tool called reconciliation to pass the bill with only 51 votes, but that tool expires Sept. 30.
Trump criticized McCain for going against his party in late July. McCain joined Collins and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, in voting against a “skinny” Obamcare repeal bill.
“What McCain has done is a tremendous slap in the face of the Republican Party,” Trump said on the radio show, according to the Hill newspaper. “Without John McCain, we already have the healthcare.”
