The reaction to Mitch McConnell’s tweaked version of the Senate healthcare bill was swift, severe, and deadly, with enough moderate Republicans at no to kill the bill.
Sen. Rob Portman is already a no vote on Trumpcare 4.0:
Portman is a no on motion to proceed on revised Senate health care bill, says he's in the same position as he's been and reviewing language
— Alex Rogers (@arogDC) July 13, 2017
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Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said that she is also leaning towards voting no:
Sen Susan Collins R-ME says she's leaning against revised GOP health bill, but will wait for CBO score pic.twitter.com/qbJh7jTurH
— Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree) July 13, 2017
Republican Senator Dean Heller is a no for any changes that will take away health insurance, and Republicans were already counting on him to vote against the bill, so those three Senators alone are enough to kill the legislation. Majority Leader McConnell has a problem that he can’t solve. McConnell moved to the right by adding the Cruz amendment, but in the process, he lost Rob Portman who wasn’t expected to be a swing vote. If McConnell moves to the middle to get the support of moderates, he will lose the Cruz/Lee/Paul far right conservatives in the Senate.
The only solution that will pass the Senate is a bipartisan bill negotiated with Democrats that drops Obamacare repeal.
McConnell can tweak Trumpcare a million times, but Democrats are going to keep winning because he may never be able to pass this legislation with only Republican votes.
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
