Democrats Bolster Unity As GOP Health Care Vote Gets Pushed Back

REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein

Alexa Archambault Capitol Hill Intern
Font Size:

Democrats in both chambers of Congress are exhibiting their unity as the Republican health care bill vote, which was supposed to happen by Friday in the Senate, was pushed back until after the July 4 recess.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell delayed the vote on the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) until after recess due to a lack of agreement among Senate Republicans, giving Democrats momentum in their opposition.

“If our Republican colleagues stick to this base bill – which so hurts working families, which so benefits multimillionaires and them almost alone – we’re going to fight the bill tooth and nail,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said shortly after news broke that the vote would be delayed. “And we have a darn good chance of defeating it.”

“I think the resistance [to the health care bill] is going to continue,” said Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin. “I think the education of the American public really was a major part of that decision,” he added, suggesting that the Congressional Budget Office score of the bill worried many voters.

The message of solidarity extends to the House, as well.

“We’re really proud of the unity in our caucus on the subject of saving the Affordable Care Act, making it better and pushing back on this Republican bill,” said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi in a press conference, flanked by other high-ranking Democrats who also expressed their disapproval of the Senate bill.

Minority Whip Steny Hoyer told reporters Tuesday morning that the Democrats are “a very united party” that is “focused on the health care issue for the American people.”

While Democrats are largely touting the delay of this vote as a win, many Republicans are still displaying optimism that they can get a quality bill passed.

“I think I have a pretty good sense of what needs to be done to resolve the issues … and I don’t think it’s that hard,” said Tennessee Republican Sen. Bob Corker, “Giving people time to digest is a good thing.”

Corker also stated that it was “very wise” of McConnell to move the vote back.

“This is an acknowledgment that Republican senators really care about getting this right,” he said.

Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz also weighed in, stating that there are “common sense reforms” that he believes will be reflected in the final draft of the health care bill. “And when they are, I think we will have a bill that can pass,” Cruz said.

When asked if Republicans will lose their momentum by pushing this vote back, GOP South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott said no. “Until we get enough questions answered … then why vote when we can wait a little longer?” he said.

While Senate Republicans did not reach their initial goal of voting on the health care bill before July 4 recess, it is likely that they will bring it up before the August recess, which begins in both chambers on July 29.

Follow Alexa Archambault on Twitter.

Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

PREMIUM ARTICLE: Subscribe To Keep Reading

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign Up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
BENEFITS READERS PASS PATRIOTS FOUNDERS
Daily and Breaking Newsletters
Daily Caller Shows
Ad Free Experience
Exclusive Articles
Custom Newsletters
Editor Daily Rundown
Behind The Scenes Coverage
Award Winning Documentaries
Patriot War Room
Patriot Live Chat
Exclusive Events
Gold Membership Card
Tucker Mug

What does Founders Club include?

Tucker Mug and Membership Card
Founders

Readers,

Instead of sucking up to the political and corporate powers that dominate America, The Daily Caller is fighting for you — our readers. We humbly ask you to consider joining us in this fight.

Now that millions of readers are rejecting the increasingly biased and even corrupt corporate media and joining us daily, there are powerful forces lined up to stop us: the old guard of the news media hopes to marginalize us; the big corporate ad agencies want to deprive us of revenue and put us out of business; senators threaten to have our reporters arrested for asking simple questions; the big tech platforms want to limit our ability to communicate with you; and the political party establishments feel threatened by our independence.

We don't complain -- we can't stand complainers -- but we do call it how we see it. We have a fight on our hands, and it's intense. We need your help to smash through the big tech, big media and big government blockade.

We're the insurgent outsiders for a reason: our deep-dive investigations hold the powerful to account. Our original videos undermine their narratives on a daily basis. Even our insistence on having fun infuriates them -- because we won’t bend the knee to political correctness.

One reason we stand apart is because we are not afraid to say we love America. We love her with every fiber of our being, and we think she's worth saving from today’s craziness.

Help us save her.

A second reason we stand out is the sheer number of honest responsible reporters we have helped train. We have trained so many solid reporters that they now hold prominent positions at publications across the political spectrum. Hear a rare reasonable voice at a place like CNN? There’s a good chance they were trained at Daily Caller. Same goes for the numerous Daily Caller alumni dominating the news coverage at outlets such as Fox News, Newsmax, Daily Wire and many others.

Simply put, America needs solid reporters fighting to tell the truth or we will never have honest elections or a fair system. We are working tirelessly to make that happen and we are making a difference.

Since 2010, The Daily Caller has grown immensely. We're in the halls of Congress. We're in the Oval Office. And we're in up to 20 million homes every single month. That's 20 million Americans like you who are impossible to ignore.

We can overcome the forces lined up against all of us. This is an important mission but we can’t do it unless you — the everyday Americans forgotten by the establishment — have our back.

Please consider becoming a Daily Caller Patriot today, and help us keep doing work that holds politicians, corporations and other leaders accountable. Help us thumb our noses at political correctness. Help us train a new generation of news reporters who will actually tell the truth. And help us remind Americans everywhere that there are millions of us who remain clear-eyed about our country's greatness.

In return for membership, Daily Caller Patriots will be able to read The Daily Caller without any of the ads that we have long used to support our mission. We know the ads drive you crazy. They drive us crazy too. But we need revenue to keep the fight going. If you join us, we will cut out the ads for you and put every Lincoln-headed cent we earn into amplifying our voice, training even more solid reporters, and giving you the ad-free experience and lightning fast website you deserve.

Patriots will also be eligible for Patriots Only content, newsletters, chats and live events with our reporters and editors. It's simple: welcome us into your lives, and we'll welcome you into ours.

We can save America together.

Become a Daily Caller Patriot today.

Signature

Neil Patel