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Popular vote loser Donald Trump achieved very little in trying to bully a Republican Senate into reanimating Trumpcare with his Wednesday lunch. Too little, way too late seems to be the consensus among Republican senators, that and they're not scared of him.
A Republican senator, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he wanted to preserve his relationship with Mr. Trump, put it more bluntly. The president, he said, scares no one in the Senate, not even the pages.
Nonetheless a group of supposedly hold-out senators met Wednesday night to see if there was anything to salvage. One of their difficulties is that Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he's forcing a vote next week, but no one knows what they're voting on. Repeal and delay (disastrously scored by the CBO Wednesday)? The "replacement" plan that's lost Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Rand Paul (R-KY) already (CBO score expected Thursday). Tellingly, Collins and Paul were not in the meeting. And there was another curveball thrown last night.
Indeed, senators left uncertain of how a planned vote will go next week, or whether it should even occur while Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is being treated for cancer.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has pledged to hold a vote next week, but with McCain gone and Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) opposing the repeal and replace plan and not even attending the meeting, success appears far off. Republicans said privately they doubt McCain will be back next week.
Repealing Obamacare is a nightmare. Millions would lose their health insurance, and the cost of premiums would skyrocket. Call your Republican senator at (202) 224-3121 and give them a very angry piece of your mind. Then, tell us how it went.
If it's repeal-only, it's already lost. Sens. Collins, Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) have all said they'll vote against it even proceeding to the floor. If it's repeal and replace, the other side—Rand Paul, Mike Lee (R-UT), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Jerry Moran (R-KS), among others—are likely to bolt. Senators who were already pissed at McConnell for keeping them in the dark for weeks about what they were going to be voting on are experiencing it again because no one knows what the hell they're supposed to vote on next week. Hell, McConnell probably doesn't even know at this point.
It's highly unlikely McCain will return to the Senate. Without that vote, McConnell's path to 50 is all but shut. It's also pretty damned horrifying that as a colleague is facing that dire medical fight, he would force his caucus to vote on taking health care away from millions of people. But that's McConnell for you.