Senate Republicans didn’t have the votes, so they have announced that the vote on Graham-Cassidy scheduled for Wednesday has been canceled.
The Daily Beast reported that Republicans have canceled the vote, but aren’t giving up:
Senate Republican leaders decided on Tuesday to not hold a vote on a last-ditch attempt to repeal and replace Obamacare before a critical, end-of-the-month deadline, a GOP aide told The Daily Beast.
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“The decision was a joint one between Lindsey and Bill and the other two sponsors and also the leader that if the votes are not there, not to have the vote, but not to give up,” said Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS). “We’re going to try to do this in some form in this session of Congress.”
Obamacare has survived another attempt to kill it, but Senate Republicans are already angling to attach health care reconciliation language to the 2018 budget. The reason why Republicans are pushing so hard to get Obamacare repeal passed this year is that they don’t want to touch it with a one hundred foot pole during the 2018 midterm election.
Common sense suggests that if an idea is so unpopular that it can’t be brought up during an election year, that idea should never be brought up at all, but this is not how Republicans think. They believe that if they can kill health care for millions before next year, memories will be erased and no one will know the difference during the midterm election.
Trump has been signaling for days that health care was dead, but this is a huge win for the American people.
The fight is not over. Republicans will be back to try this again, so those who care about healthcare must stay vigilant and ready.
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
