On Nov. 9, 2016, in the stunned afterglow of Republicans taking the White House and holding both chambers of Congress, former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor put it plainly:

“It is now time for Republicans to govern,” he said on CNBC. “There’ll be no excuses now. And I think the number one focus will be repeal and replacement of Obamacare. I think that’s where they’ll go first.”