Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky issued a strong rebuttal Friday morning after President Donald Trump threatened him with political isolation should he vote against the GOP’s latest Obamacare repeal and replace bill.
Trump warned Paul early Friday morning on Twitter that he would be remembered as “the Republican who saved ObamaCare” if he does not support the Graham-Cassidy repeal and replace bill. Paul quickly responded with a series of tweets in which he argued that the bill does not sufficiently repeal what he sees as the overreaching and costly features of Obamacare.
No one is more opposed to Obamacare than I am, and I’ve voted multiple times for repeal. The current bill isn’t repeal.
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) September 22, 2017
I won’t vote for Obamacare Lite that keeps 90% of the taxes & spending just so some people can claim credit for something that didn’t happen
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) September 22, 2017
Calling a bill that KEEPS most of Obamacare “repeal” doesn’t make it true. That’s what the swamp does. I won’t be bribed or bullied.
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) September 22, 2017
The bill would end Medicaid expansion and roll back insurance subsidies, instead portioning funding into block grants to the states. The legislation requires 50 votes, plus a tiebreaking vote from Vice President Mike Pence, to pass under budget reconciliation rules.
Paul is the only GOP senator to explicitly denounce the bill, but Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and John McCain of Arizona are currently undecided.
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