John McCain Compares New Obamacare Repeal Effort To ‘Murder Or Train Robbery’

In a new sign that the latest Republican attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act may again be at risk, John McCain slammed his GOP colleagues for the process they’re using to ram through the new legislation before the end of the month.

While McCain didn’t go as far as saying he would oppose the Cassidy-Graham legislation, he certainly signaled that he wasn’t close to supporting it.

“I have talked and talked and talked about the need to do regular order,” McCain said on Monday, according to The Hill. “I have amendments that I would like to have votes on … Am I going to be able to have those, or is [it] going to be an up or down vote? That’s not why I came to the Senate just to give up or down votes.”

McCain went even further, comparing the Republican repeal effort to serious criminal behavior.

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“[The process for the Cassidy-Graham bill] is better but it’s not what the Senate is supposed to be doing,” he said. “Is it better to be guilty of murder or train robbery?”

Ouch.

Not only did the Arizona senator, who was recently diagnosed with brain cancer, voice concerns about the process surrounding the new legislation, but he also showed very little sympathy for Republicans who are now scrambling to pass some type of repeal legislation before the end of the month.

“I’m not the one that waited nine months,” McCain said. “It’s not my problem that we only have those few days.”

McCain has yet to confirm his official position on the legislation, and some reporting suggests he will be inclined to vote for it after Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey threw his support behind it today.

With Monday’s comments, though, McCain has left himself very little room to support the legislation if and when it comes up for a vote. If he does, then apparently he has no problem with “murder or train robbery.”

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.