From ‘Coming Up Short’ To Victory: How Republican Leaders Gained The Final Votes
Six weeks ago, House Republicans could not muster enough votes to pass their health bill and pulled it from the floor. What happened to turn that failure around? Behind-the-scenes negotiations focused on amendments that could persuade the right-wing Freedom Caucus to back the legislation. In the end, Republicans wanted to deliver a win for President Donald Trump and on their pledge to repeal Obamacare.
The Washington Post:
How The House Got A Health-Care Bill After Trump And Ryan Stepped Back
The rescue effort that pulled the Republicans back from the brink of failure on health care began quietly, with two House members who are not exactly household names trying to find common ground on a little-noticed issue. They were Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.), a leader of the moderate House Republican bloc that calls itself the Tuesday Group, and Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), chairman of the conservative and hard-line House Freedom Caucus. The question at hand was giving states more flexibility by allowing them to come up with their own ways of achieving cost savings and providing coverage. (Tumulty and Costa, 5/4)
Roll Call:
How The House Finally Got To Yes On Health Care
The House on Thursday squeaked out a one-vote win with the support of all but 20 Republicans, 15 of whom are members of the moderate Tuesday Group. No Democrats supported the bill. The path to 217, the ultimate tally of Republicans who supported the legislation, was fraught. House Republicans missed every deadline they set out for themselves to deliver the repeal of the health care law, a campaign promise they repeated for more than seven years. Leaders had to pull their first version of the legislation from floor consideration in March, when it became clear it lacked the support to pass. Since then, various groups of Republicans have been huddling in meetings like the one convened Monday, to work out policy changes that have bought anywhere from one to 30 votes. (Mershon and McPherson, 5/4)
The Washington Post:
Republicans Are Following The Playbook They Attacked In Obamacare Debate
As they raced toward Thursday’s vote on the American Health Care Act, House Republicans found themselves fending off ghosts. Seven years of attacks on the Affordable Care Act, seven years of insisting that the law had been jammed through without scrutiny, kept coming back to haunt them. First, they struggled to answer questions about the need to vote before the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) had estimated the costs of an amended AHCA. ... Next, they brushed off questions about whether they’d read the bill. (Weigel, 5/4)
Politico:
5 Instances Of GOP Hypocrisy On Obamacare Repeal
For seven years, Republicans campaigned on a single message: Obamacare was rammed through Congress by power-hungry Democrats who rushed a hastily written bill riddled with backroom kickbacks. But now, after vowing for years that the repeal process would be different, with regular order and plenty of public scrutiny, Republicans are doing the exact same thing — or worse — that they blasted Democrats for repeatedly. Here’s how. (Caygle, 5/4)
Politico:
Doubted And Mocked, Ryan Delivers Big For Trump
Thursday may have been Paul Ryan’s best day as speaker of the House. Or according to Democrats, his worst. After months of tense negotiations, false starts and unrelenting pressure from President Donald Trump, a weary-looking Ryan and his leadership team pushed through legislation to repeal and replace Obamacare. It passed with one vote to spare, 217 to 213, with 20 Republicans and all Democrats opposed. (Bresnahan and Haberkorn, 5/4)