Mitch McConnell Admits That Obama Will Veto Any Obamacare Repeal That Republicans Pass

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During a radio interview today, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell admitted that Republicans are wasting their time with trying to repeal Obamacare because President Obama will veto any bill that they pass.

Transcript via Hugh Hewitt:

HH: Now I don’t think it’s realistic to expect the President to go along with a repeal of Obamacare, so I am one of those that urge getting as much as is possible and playing some poker, and you’re the guy to be playing poker with him. Is part of that poker package that would get the President’s signature, in your opinion, Mitch McConnell, repeal of the medical device tax?

MM: We certainly think it’s a terrible tax that’s offshored a great number of American jobs to other countries. I don’t think he’s going to sign anything, frankly.

HH: Oh, really?

MM: No, I don’t think he will. What I think he’ll probably do is veto anything we send him, and put the pressure on the states to cave and turn established state exchanges in place of federal exchanges, thereby making them eligible for subsidies. I think he’s going to put the heat on the governors who have, in my view, wisely decided not to go along with this new game plan, either with the Medicaid expansion or with establishing a state exchange.

In other words, McConnell admitted that Republicans in Congress are wasting their time, and your money on efforts to repeal the ACA. President Obama is never going to sign any bill that repeals any part of Obamacare, and Congressional Democrats have more than enough votes to uphold any presidential veto.

McConnell knows that any legislation that would repeal the law is dead on arrival, but he has promised to hold a vote on repealing Obamacare. In December 2014, McConnell said, “We certainly will have a vote on proceeding to a bill to repeal Obamacare… it was a very large issue in the campaign. And, the reconciliation process does present an opportunity and we’re reviewing that to see what’s possible through reconciliation. So, we’re certainly gonna keep our commitment to the American people to make every effort we can to repeal it.”

Mitch McConnell has promised something that he has no intentions of being able to deliver on, so Senate Republicans will waste time and money grandstanding against a health care law that is working. The whole repeal Obamacare charade is a sham, and exactly why Mitch McConnell has become the bookend to John Boehner’s failed House leadership.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association