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 Trump on Wednesday told the Senate's fractured Republican majority
to revive a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare that collapsed on
Monday after Republicans from both moderate and conservative
factions pulled their support.
But after a late-night emergency meeting on how to win over holdouts
appeared to yield no progress, senators expressed irritation.
"It really is starting to feel like a bazaar, $50 billion here, $100
billion there, and I feel like it’s losing coherency," Senator Bob
Corker said.
Susan Collins, a moderate Republican who strongly objected to the
revised bill, said she didn't "even know what we are proceeding to
next week" and said Trump had contributed to the "lack of clarity"
over the next steps.
"I’m unclear, having heard the president and read his tweets,
exactly which bill he wants to pass and whether he is for just
repealing, or repealing and replacing - whether he’s for the Senate
bill," Collins said.
Trump, who had campaigned heavily on a promise to repeal and replace
Obamacare, the signature legislative achievement of former
Democratic President Barack Obama, took a hands-off approach to the
healthcare debate last week.
On Tuesday he suggested that he was fine with letting Obamacare
fail. But on Wednesday he switched course and demanded that senators
stay in Washington through their planned August recess until they
find common ground on healthcare.
The repeal and replace bill crafted by Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell would leave 22 million Americans without health insurance
coverage by 2026, the nonpartisan U.S. Congressional Budget Office
said on Thursday.
Before Trump's Wednesday lunch with 49 Republican senators,
McConnell had planned to hold a straight repeal vote next week, but
that appeared doomed with several Republican senators having already
said they oppose that approach.
The CBO said on Wednesday that 32 million more Americans would lose
their insurance coverage by 2026 under a bill that would repeal much
of Obamacare without a replacement. That compares with the 20
million who have become insured under Obamacare, as the Affordable
Care Act is known.
The Senate's number two Republican, John Cornyn, said he expected a
procedural vote on Tuesday to take up a healthcare bill, but said
knowing what the healthcare bill will be before the procedural vote
is "a luxury we don't have."
An aide to Cornyn said he was referring to the amendment process
that could change the bill once it is on the Senate floor. "It’s
difficult to predict what the final product will look like," the
aide said.
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MCCAIN'S CANCER ADDS PRESSURE
Adding to Republicans' woes was news late Wednesday that Senator
John McCain has aggressive brain cancer. With a narrow 52-48
Republican majority, their fight for votes becomes even more
difficult.
McCain, a Republican known for his feisty independence, tweeted,
"... unfortunately for my sparring partners in Congress, I'll be
back soon, so stand-by!"
As they sought to break the impasse, senators were discussing
changes to Medicaid, the government healthcare program for the poor
that was expanded under Obamacare. One possibility would give states
flexibility to use Medicaid funding to help cover healthcare
expenses of people who would lose their Medicaid coverage under the
Senate bill's sharp cuts to the program.
Senator Rob Portman, one of the undecideds on the healthcare bill,
called the proposal "progress." But Collins said she had not heard a
Medicaid proposal that would tempt her to vote yes.
Republicans say Obamacare is a costly intrusion into the healthcare
system, but the party is divided between moderates concerned the
Senate bill would eliminate insurance for millions of low-income
Americans and conservatives who want to see even deeper cuts.
McConnell revealed little of his next steps but said Republicans
were not giving up. "The fight to move beyond the status quo of
Obamacare was certainly never going to be easy," he told the Senate
on Thursday.
"But we've come a long way, and I look forward to continuing our
work together to finally bring relief."
The dramatic week at Congress and in the White House was taking its
toll.
"I'm getting a little anxious," Corker said. He said the best
approach would be a repeal, with a delayed effective date by which
time lawmakers could develop a replacement.
Democrats, who are united in their opposition to the Republican
efforts and reveled in this week's deadlock, told Republicans to
abandon their healthcare efforts as they appeared no closer to
reconciling policy differences after Wednesday's meeting.
"It's time for Congress to pivot away from the bills that are going
nowhere," said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.
(Additional reporting by Yasmeen Abutaleb; Writing by Mary Milliken;
Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Leslie Adler)
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