Senate Republicans gave up on their last-ditch bid to repeal Obamacare Tuesday as opposition in their own ranks ended months of fruitless efforts to deliver on a seven-year promise, and leaders said they would turn instead to overhauling the U.S. tax system.
"We don’t have the votes" for the health-care bill, co-sponsor Bill Cassidy of Louisiana told reporters in Washington. "We’ve made the decision, since we don’t have the votes, we’ll postpone that vote."
Leaders decided the Senate won’t vote before Saturday’s deadline to use a fast-track procedure to keep Democrats from blocking a GOP-only bill. On Monday, Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine added her opposition to that of GOP Senators John McCain of Arizona and Rand Paul of Kentucky, enough to sink the legislation in the 52-48 Senate.
"It’s only a matter of when" the measure will be enacted, insisted co-sponsor Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. "We’re coming back to this after taxes."
President Donald Trump told reporters earlier Tuesday, before the decision was announced, that he is "disappointed in certain so-called Republicans."
QuickTake Q&A: What’s in the Revised Republican Health-Care Bill
Republicans have campaigned for seven years on repealing Obamacare, and they thought their goal was in sight when the GOP took control of the presidency as well as both houses of Congress in January. House Republicans passed a bill in May and celebrated at the White House Rose Garden with Trump, but their measure wasn’t acceptable to the Senate, which then was unable to agree on a plan of its own.
The House and Senate proposals were crafted in secret, with no public hearings or input from Democrats. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s own proposal stumbled to an embarrassing 49-51 defeat in July, with McCain providing the final "no" vote.
“We haven’t given up on reforming the health-care system," McConnell said Tuesday. "We’re not going to do it this week” but will come back to the issue later.
“It’s not Mitch’s fault," said Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana. "The problem is we’ve got too many people running around like free-range chickens.” He said the Graham-Cassidy plan is "dead as a doornail. Let’s go to tax reform."