In a Tuesday interview with the Washington Examiner, Sen. Luther Strange, R-Ala., discussed ongoing negotiations over the American Health Care Act, expressing optimism that his party will find a consensus.
Strange, a first term senator who was appointed to replace Attorney General Jeff Sessions, critiqued Republican leaders’ initial attempts to pass a repeal and replace bill last month, explaining, “The approach of having a proposal that was basically done sent over to the Senate was probably not the going to be the best way to go about it.”
But, more importantly, the senator also believes the White House “is learning from that experience.”
“From what I can tell they are much more actively engaged and reaching out,” Strange said.
Citing increased efforts to negotiate with Senate Republicans, Strange saw Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-Ky.) weekend golf outing with the president as a positive sign, noting that Vice President Pence also attended a Senate lunch on Tuesday to “show that he’s listening.”
Shortly after Strange sat down with the Examiner, Axios reported that the negotiations over healthcare were “falling apart” ahead of Pence’s scheduled meeting with Congressional Republicans Tuesday night.
For his part earlier Tuesday afternoon, Strange did not show signs of pessimism.
Emily Jashinsky is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
