Republican Retreat: GOP Abandons Border Wall And Planned Parenthood Fight After Trumpcare Loss

After suffering a humiliating defeat last week when their seven-year effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act went up in flames, Republicans are in all-out retreat, which is terrible for them and great for the country.

It’s so bad that they’re abandoning, at least temporarily, funding for Trump’s border wall and efforts to deny Planned Parenthood any federal funding.

According to a report from The Hill, Senate leaders are so afraid of being humiliated again, that they “signaled Tuesday they would set aside President Trump’s controversial request for a military supplemental bill that would include funding to begin construction of a wall along the southern border.”

Top Senate Republicans Mitch McConnell and Roy Blunt said the legislation involving the border wall funding would have to wait until “a later time,” according to the same report.

Even better? GOP members of Congress also appear to be backing away from another crusade they’ve been on for years – to defund Planned Parenthood, which provides critical health care coverage to millions of Americans.

“Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), meanwhile, sought to avoid another political landmine Tuesday by arguing that language defunding Planned Parenthood should be kept out of the spending legislation that needs to pass by April 28,” the report noted, signaling yet another victory for not just Democrats but the country generally.

The colossal failure of Donald Trump and Republicans to agree on a plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act isn’t just a temporary setback – it’s a defeat that is already having wide-ranging effects. The GOP is quickly coming to grips with the reality that Americans aren’t in favor of their agenda, and the majority of them voted against Trump last fall.

For Trump, the next four years will likely be defined by fierce opposition to his agenda, and Republicans are starting to recognizing that aligning themselves with a deeply unpopular president who’s pushing a dangerous agenda is political suicide.

Sean Colarossi

Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.