A group created to support President Trump’s policies decided Tuesday to pull an advertising campaign aimed at highlighting Republican Sen. Dean Heller’s opposition to the GOP healthcare plan in his home state of Nevada.
America First Policies scrapped the seven-figure ad buy after vowing earlier this week to move ahead with the cable and digital campaign regardless of whether Heller shifted his position on the Obamacare repeal measure.A source familiar with the group’s plans confirmed the decision to the Washington Examiner on Tuesday. “America First Policies is pleased to learn that Senator Dean Heller has decided to come back to the table to negotiate with his colleagues on the Senate bill,” said Erin Montgomery, the group’s communications director. “We have pulled the ads we released earlier today in Nevada, and we remain hopeful that Senator Heller and his colleagues can agree on what the American people already know: that repealing and replacing Obamacare must happen for America to move forward and be great again.”
The news comes as Trump works to build support for the bill among reluctant Republicans in the Senate. Earlier Tuesday, he invited the entire GOP Senate caucus to the White House to generate support for the legislation.
It was not immediately clear why the group believed Heller had shifted his position on the healthcare bill, however. A senior Republican aide said Heller has always been open to negotiating aspects of the bill, which he has criticized due to the cuts it imposes on Medicaid.
“The idea that Senator Heller ever left the table is nonsense,” the senior GOP aide said. “He’s been working with his colleagues to try and improve this bill, including attending a key meeting last night with other expansion state senators.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was reportedly unhappy with the pro-Trump group’s decision to hammer vulnerable members like Heller with negative ads. America First Policies had purchased ads in the states of other Republicans who opposed the initial version of the bill, such as Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio.
Heller is one of the few Republican senators up for re-election in 2018 who is at risk of a serious Democratic challenge. Hillary Clinton carried Nevada in last year’s presidential election.
Pence invited a handful of Republican lawmakers — including Sen. Mike Lee, who opposes the bill as written — to a dinner at his home Tuesday evening. The vice president played a pivotal role in shoring up support for the House version of the healthcare overhaul.
Although Senate leadership had hoped to vote on the legislation before the week-long July 4 recess, McConnell informed members on Tuesday that no such vote would take place.
The White House has urged lawmakers to send an Obamacare repeal bill to Trump’s desk before they leave town for the August recess.
