Senate GOP, With an Assist From VP Pence, Pushes Health Care Bill Through to Next Round

The vote is cast. On Tuesday, Senate Republicans made at least temporary progress in their ongoing crusade, mandated by President Trump, to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

In a 51-50 vote, the breakdown of which split predictably along party lines, GOP senators succeeded in taking their latest version of the health care legislation intended to replace Obamacare to the point of debate.

Vice President Pence was obliged to come to his party’s rescue to break the tie, even though a handful of Republicans whose support was far from guaranteed ended up throwing in with their cohorts, as CNN reported that afternoon:

The next step is floor debate on the legislation to overhaul the Affordable Care Act even though there aren’t any guarantees the votes are there to eventually pass it—and it’s unclear what a final bill will look like.

The vote was up in the air until the last moments, when several Republican holdouts announced their support, including Sens. Rand Paul, Dean Heller, Rob Portman and Shelley Moore Capito.

Trump, who has repeatedly said he’s ready to sign any repeal legislation, celebrated the vote, which creates a path to give him the major congressional victory that’s eluded the White House thus far.

“I’m very happy to announce that with zero of the Democrats’ votes, the motion to proceed on health care has moved past and now we move forward toward truly great health care for the American people. We look forward to that. This was a big step,” Trump said at a White House news conference.

CNN also mentioned Trump’s show of gratitude to Senate stalwart John McCain, who made his return to Capitol Hill for the first time since the news broke that the Arizona senator was combating an aggressive form of brain cancer. And though he, too, ultimately sided with his party for this round, McCain spelled out to his colleagues that he doesn’t expect that their health care mission will ultimately succeed (per Politico):

“Our health care insurance system is a mess,” McCain said on the floor, adding of Obamacare: “We Republicans have looked for a way to end it and replace it with something else without paying a terrible political price. We haven’t found it yet, and I’m not sure we will. All we’ve managed to do is make more popular a policy that wasn’t very popular when we started trying to get rid of it.”

He nudged Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to abandon the one-party approach to passing a health care bill and start over, with committee hearings and a standard process, as Democrats have long urged.

“Why don’t we try the old way of legislating in the Senate, the way our rules and customs encourage us to act?” McCain said. “If this process ends in failure, which seem likely, then let’s return to regular order.”

And he didn’t stop at health care. McCain declared that even with full control of Congress and the White House, the GOP is “getting nothing done” beyond the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch.

He never mentioned President Donald Trump by name in the speech, but denounced “the bombastic loudmouths on the radio and television and the internet” — a subtle reference to the bitterly partisan culture that Trump has only intensified since entering the political arena. McCain’s wife Cindy, reportedly poised to take a job in Trump’s State Department, joined him in the Senate and greeted GOP leaders warmly outside the chamber.

Critics of the bill were quick to respond on social media, drawing attention to the apparent contradictions—not to mention the irony—to be found in a critically ill senator, who is able to avail himself of the first-class health benefits offered to all members of Congress, casting his vote in favor of a bill he didn’t support, and one that would strip millions of Americans of their own health coverage:

McCain’s Sorkinesque speech after advancing a bill that could kill thousands was a joke. https://t.co/y8r3ISYnNo pic.twitter.com/U68JeA41t9

— Slate (@Slate) July 25, 2017

GOP: Come over

MCCAIN: I can’t, I have brain cancer

GOP: We need your vote to strip millions of their health coverage

MCCAIN: pic.twitter.com/8nSgQbprfP

— ken klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) July 25, 2017

John McCain left hospital stay paid by taxes on flight paid by taxes to remove health insurance from taxpayers. And we paid him to do it.

— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) July 25, 2017

—Posted by Kasia Anderson

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