Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn believes some form of the House Republican healthcare bill will pass the Senate if it comes through the House later this week.
Cornyn said on MSNBC Tuesday he’s confident that skeptical Republican senators will come on board with the bill once they’re able to offer their amendments and get their priorities in the bill.
That might set up a fight in negotiations between the House and Senate for a final bill to send to President Trump’s desk, but that will come after, Cornyn said.
“I believe that if the House passes the bill the Senate will likewise pass the bill,” Cornyn said. “There will be an opportunity for amendments in the Senate, so I anticipate there will be a conference committee to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate bills.”
Sens. Rand Paul, Ted Cruz and Mike Lee are all thought to be no votes on the current version of the American Healthcare Act. That would be enough to kill the bill in the upper chamber. There are multiple other Republican senators who are thought to be on the fence as well.
Trump is heading to Capitol Hill Tuesday to make a final push to get skeptical conservative lawmakers on board with the healthcare bill before the House votes on Thursday. It’s currently up in the air whether enough Republicans will sign on to the bill in order to ensure it passes without Democrat support.
Cornyn said Republicans owe it to their voters to pass the bill.
“This is our effort to try and rescue those people who were misled by Obamacare,” he said.
