Well that did not take long. Somewhat unsurprisingly, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s new proposal to simply repeal Obamacare appears to already be dead, as GOP Senators Susan Collins, Shelley Moore Capito and Lisa Murkowski said Tuesday they’ll oppose a repeal of the Affordable Care Act.
As The Hill reports, Republican Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.) and Susan Collins (Maine) said on Tuesday that they will not support moving forward with the plan to repeal ObamaCare with a delayed replacement.
“My position on this issue is driven by its impact on West Virginians. With that in mind, I cannot vote to repeal ObamaCare without a replacement plan that addresses my concerns and the needs of West Virginians,” Capito said in a statement.
Collins said that she is still a “no” on proceeding to the House-passed bill, which would be used as a vehicle for any Senate action.
“We can’t just hope that we will pass a replacement within the next two years. Repealing without a replacement would create great uncertainty for individuals who rely on the [Affordable Care Act] and cause further turmoil in the insurance markets,” she said.
And to kill the bill, Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska also said she wouldn’t vote to take up a repeal-alone measure.
“There’s enough chaos and uncertainty already and this would just contribute to it,” Murkowski told reporters.
The announcements effectively put the healthcare push in limbo. With a 52-seat majority, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) can only afford to lose two senators and still let Vice President Pence break a tie.
Reuters reports that President Trump says:
“We are at a point where we likely need to let ObamaCare fail… Democrats will then come to us.”
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer urged Republicans to start over and work with Democrats.
“The door to bipartisanship is open right now, not with repeal, but with an effort to improve the existing system,” he said on the Senate floor.
And for now, stock markets do not care at all… because Netflix is up, yay!
via http://ift.tt/2u6kKMY Tyler Durden