Politics

Passing The Senate Obamacare Repeal Faces New Hurdle

REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

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Senate Republicans have been struggling to come to a consensus on a plan to repeal and replace Obamacare for months and now face a new, unexpected and tragic hurdle.

At a meeting aimed at renewing health-care negotiation efforts in Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso’s office Wednesday evening,  South Carolina Sen. Lindsay Graham delivered the news that Arizona Sen. John McCain — a powerhouse and former presidential candidate — was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer most common in men over 60.

GOP Leadership needs a simple majority to pass repeal legislation using the reconciliation process, but with McCain’s presumable absence from Capitol Hill, McConnell can only afford to lose one vote.

While McCain’s colleagues said they aren’t focused on political implications of the McCain’s health, they acknowledged it complicates the process of repealing the Affordable Care Act.

“I mean obviously, you know, I think more people are worried about his health than thinking about the math, but, you know, you understand the math,” Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker told reporters after the meeting. “So, you know, obviously, it makes things difficult.”

North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven mirrored Corker’s concerns. “You know, we’re really working to try to get agreement. But, obviously, yeah, it’s more challenging,” Hoeven said. 

The news of McCain’s diagnosis hit hard in the room full of only senators, absent their staffs and advisers.

“All of us stopped,” Texas Sen. Ted Cruz told reporters immediately after the meeting. “It was a sobering moment. John is someone who we work with, we serve with, we respect. It is very sad news. And all of us are lifting him up in prayer. We hope that he will recover fully and be back very soon.”

Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford then led the room in prayer, according to Hoeven.

Graham, who spoke with McCain on the phone during the meeting, said the senator is in good spirits, looking at treatment options and hoping to get back to the Capitol.

“God knows how this ends, not me,” said a visibly emotional Graham following the meeting. “But I do know this, this disease has never had a more worthy opponent.”

News of McCain’s diagnosis certainly does not make health care passage in the Senate any easier, as many Republican senators are not even sure what they will supposedly be voting on next week – likely either the Senate’s Better Care Reconciliation Act or a clean Obamacare repeal, neither of which seem to have the votes right now to move forward in the upper chamber of Congress.

Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson told reporters that he did not know what they will be voting on and, when asked, Cruz simply said, “These conversations will continue.”

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