There will be no vote to repeal and replace Obamacare tonight.
The bigger question, now for President Donald Trump and the GOP House: Will there be a vote on health care any time soon?
This much is clear: An intense 48 hours of missed deadlines, lobbying and arm twisting in the White House and the halls of Congress has failed to move enough votes in time for a schedule vote on health care legislation, POLITICO’s Shane Goldmacher, Josh Dawsey and Tara Palmeri report.
“Conservative House hardliners would not budge on their demanded concessions. Moderate Republicans grew skittish of the new proposed changes. And, as the morning turned to afternoon without an accord on final legislative language, Republicans fretted about the optics of jamming the far-reaching bill through in the middle of the night.”
Neither Trump nor House Speaker Paul Ryan, both of whom have been active in negotiations, have found a sweet spot, POLITICO’s Rachael Bade, Josh Dawsey and Kyle Cheney report. The result is a bill that angers conservatives and makes GOP moderates leery for different reasons.
“As it stands, Trump and Ryan find themselves playing see-saw with moderates and hard-liners. Lean too much toward one faction and they lose votes from the other.”
There were technical setbacks, too. A fresh report from the non partisan Congressional Budget Office said the updated health care bill would actually cut the deficit less than the previous draft and leave just as many people, around 24 million, without insurance coverage.
Still, Thursday’s delayed vote is not an outright defeat, at least not yet.
There are multiple paths forward for Republicans, as POLITICO’s Adam Cancryn notes, with options including delaying the vote to allow more time for negotiations, making more changes or putting the bill on the floor and forcing a showdown. Or starting over altogther.
The health care negotiations continued to play out into the night and into Friday, with procedural votes scheduled later tonight, after a meeting of the House Republican Caucus.
Elsewhere in Donald Trump’s orbit:
OBAMA CARES: Former President Barack Obama released a statement today supporting his signature healthcare legislation, which also marked its seventh anniversary as a law.
OH, THEM: The changes currently being made to the House bill likely wouldn’t suit the Senate.
A SCHUM NO: Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said he would oppose Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch and said he would support a filibuster, meaning he have win 60 votes to win confirmation.
TIME TALK: President Trump gave a fascinating interview to Time about truth and falsehoods.
FRIEDMAN AFFIRMED: The Senate confirmed David Friedman as U.S. ambassador to Israel.
KEEP ON TRUCKING: As the health care drama unfolded, President Trump also hosted an event for truckers at the White House that produced this photo. (AFP)
And there you have it, you’re caught up on the the Trump administration. Happy Thursday and, if your team is still in it, here’s you keep dancing tonight.
Source Link: http://www.politico.com/blogs/donald-trump-administration/2017/03/obamacare-repeal-delay-236442
