WASHINGTON (AP) – The initial GOP bill to repeal and replace the nation’s health law is probably “dead” and President Donald Trump’s proposal to just repeal it appears to be a “non-starter,” two moderate Republican senators indicated Sunday as their party scrambled to salvage faltering legislation.
“We don’t know what the plan is,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La. “Clearly, the draft plan is dead. Is the serious rewrite plan dead? I don’t know.”
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said it may now be time for Republicans to come up with a new proposal with support from Democrats.
“I think my view is it’s probably going to be dead,” McCain said of the GOP bill. If Democrats are included, he said, it doesn’t mean “they control it. It means they can have amendments considered. And even when they lose, then they’re part of the process. That’s what democracy is supposed to be all about.”
Signaling his pessimism as well, Sen. Chuck Grassley wrote on Twitter late Saturday that Republicans will lose their Senate majority if they don’t pass health care legislation. The Iowa Republican said the party should be “ashamed” that it hasn’t been able to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare.