Arizona Sen. John McCain’s opposition to the Graham-Cassidy Obamacare overhaul bill has dealt a near deathblow to Republicans’ frantic last-ditch effort to repeal Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law after years of promises.
Republican Senate leaders have not announced they are nixing plans for a vote next week on the bill spearheaded by Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. But McCain’s decision left leadership with few options in trying to cobble together 50 votes for the measure, with Vice President Mike Pence casting the tie-breaking vote.
Graham said Friday that he will “press on” and continue advocating for his bill. But it now has a steep path to getting approved in the Senate.
I’m excited about solutions we have found in Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson. We press on.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) September 22, 2017
Republicans can afford to lose two only GOP senators in their 52-48 majority. McCain on Friday announced his opposition to the bill, joining Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky in publicly opposing the bill.
Paul has been adamant about voting against the bill, calling it amnesty for Obamacare and criticizing the bill for keeping 90 percent of Obamacare’s taxes. He tweeted Friday that he won’t be bullied into supporting the bill, after several tweets from President Trump threatening him. A spokesman said Paul’s stance hasn’t changed after McCain announced his opposition.
McCain has been concerned about the process surrounding Republicans’ efforts to repeal Obamacare. He said in a statement Friday he wants a bipartisan approach and called for the revival of bipartisan talks to stabilize Obamacare’s markets. The deal was nixed earlier this week.
Republicans cannot afford to lose any other senators.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, is looking like the third “no” vote. She told the Portland, Maine, Press Herald Friday that she is leaning against the measure. She was concerned about the bill letting states erode protections for pre-existing conditions. She has voted against all Obamacare repeal efforts this year as well as a 2015 bill that passed the Senate but was vetoed by former President Barack Obama.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, is another possible “no” vote. Murkowski, Collins, and McCain joined forces with all of the chamber’s Democrats in late July to kill a “skinny” repeal bill that gutted some parts of Obamacare.
Murkowski has been reluctant to sign on to the new measure that takes Obamacare funding for the Medicaid expansion and federal insurance subsidies and gives it to states through block grants.
It is not clear if other Republican senators who are on the fence will now oppose it, such as Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia. Both hail from Medicaid expansion states that would stand to lose funding under the bill, according to several independent analyses.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office did not return a request for comment on the bill’s status.
He had intended to hold a vote on the bill but has told Republican senators that he would only bring it up if he can line up 50 votes ahead of time.
McConnell doesn’t have much time to bring wary senators on board. The rules allowing Republicans to use reconciliation, which allow them to pass a bill with only 51 votes, expire Sept. 30.
Republicans could create a new budget resolution with new reconciliation instructions in the next fiscal year that starts Oct. 1. Any reconciliation bill must originate in the House.
House Republicans narrowly passed a reconciliation repeal bill in May. It is not clear if members are up for taking another tough vote with the outcome in doubt in the Senate.
