McCain Rejects ‘Skinny Plan’ And Helps Derail GOP’s Repeal Efforts In Stunning Late-Night Vote
When Sen. John McCain swooped back into town after being diagnosed with brain cancer, he was hailed as "an American hero" by the president. With a simple thumbs down vote in the early hours of Friday morning, though, he went against his party and helped kill Republicans' chance to fulfill 7 years of promises. Media outlets look at what went down on Capitol Hill.
The New York Times:
Senate Rejects Slimmed-Down Obamacare Repeal As McCain Votes No
The Senate in the early hours of Friday morning rejected a new, scaled-down Republican plan to repeal parts of the Affordable Care Act, derailing the Republicans’ seven-year campaign to dismantle President Barack Obama’s signature health care law and dealing a huge political setback to President Trump. Senator John McCain of Arizona, who just this week returned to the Senate after receiving a diagnosis of brain cancer, cast the decisive vote to defeat the proposal, joining two other Republicans, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, in opposing it. (Pear and Kaplan, 7/27)
The Hill:
Senate ObamaCare Repeal Bill Falls In Shocking Vote
The Senate voted 49-51 against the "skinny" bill, which would have repealed ObamaCare's individual and employer mandates and defunded Planned Parenthood. (Sullivan, 7/28)
Politico:
Senate Rejects Obamacare Repeal
"I do my job as a senator," McCain said after he left the Senate chamber, saying he voted against the Obamacare repeal bill "because I thought it was the right vote." ... Later, McCain issued a statement offering a more thorough explanation of his vote, saying that he has always believed that Obamacare should be repealed and replaced with a solution that "increases competition, lowers costs and improves care for the American people." (Bresnahan, Everett, Haberkorn and Kim, 7/28)
USA Today:
Senate Narrowly Defeats 'Skinny Repeal' Of Obamacare, As McCain Votes 'No'
McConnell said at about 2 a.m. that it was "time to move on" rather than trying again to pass a GOP bill. He said he wants to hear ideas from Democrats about what to do next on health care. "What we tried to accomplish for the American people was the right thing for the country," McConnell, who was clearly shaken, said after the vote. "And our only regret is that we didn't achieve what we had hoped to accomplish. I think the American people are going to regret that we couldn't find a better way forward." (Kelly and Collins, 7/27)
The Washington Post:
The Night John McCain Killed The GOP’s Health-Care Fight
It was the most dramatic night in the United States Senate in recent history. Just ask the senators who witnessed it. A seven-year quest to undo the Affordable Care Act collapsed — at least for now — as Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) kept his colleagues and the press corps in suspense over a little more than two hours late Thursday into early Friday. Not since September 2008, when the House of Representatives rejected the Troubled Asset Relief Program — causing the Dow Jones industrial average to plunge nearly 800 points in a single afternoon — had such an unexpected vote caused such a striking twist. (O'Keefe, 7/28)
The Wall Street Journal:
Senate ‘Skinny’ Repeal Vote Was All About John McCain
As Mr. McCain entered the chamber, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) was urging his colleagues to find common ground. From a corner of the Senate chamber, Mr. McCain quietly clapped. It would be one of his most visible final gestures before Mr. McCain, at about 1:27 a.m., stuck his thumb down and formally registered himself as the vote that would block the GOP health plan from advancing. That vote took a long time to come. For almost an hour, the Senate clerks refrained from gaveling the previous vote to a close as Republicans clustered around Mr. McCain. First, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R., Alaska) squeezed him on the shoulder. Then, Sen. Susan Collins (R., Maine) joined them, laughing. Those were to be the only three Republican senators to vote against the GOP “skinny repeal” proposal, just enough to derail it—and with it the broader GOP effort to repeal and replace the ACA. (Hughes, 7/28)
Politico:
How McCain Upended Obamacare Repeal
Paul Ryan couldn’t persuade him. Neither could Mike Pence. And in the end, President Donald Trump couldn’t reel in John McCain either. The president made a last-ditch effort, calling the Arizona senator and key holdout on the GOP’s Obamacare repeal measure, as the bill’s fate hung in the balance, according to two sources familiar with the conversation. After Pence had spent about 20 minutes working McCain, the senator went off the floor to speak with Trump by phone, those sources said. (Kim, Everett and Haberkorn, 7/28)
The Washington Post:
Female Senators Are Increasingly On Receiving End Of Insults From Male Officials
Republican female senators whose disapproval of the GOP health-care effort has at times endangered its progress are facing an increasingly pointed backlash from men in their party, including a handful of comments that invoked physical retaliation. In the past week, Sen. Susan Collins (Maine) has been challenged by a male lawmaker to a duel. She and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) were told that they and others deserve a physical reprimand for their decisions not to support Republican health-care proposals. Murkowski, who voted with Collins against starting the health-care debate this week, was specifically called out by President Trump on Twitter and told by a Cabinet official that Alaska could suffer for her choice, according to a colleague. (Viebeck, 7/27)
The Wall Street Journal:
‘Skinny’ Repeal Of Obamacare Fails In Senate
Friday’s vote leaves Republicans without any clear next step in their monthslong effort to roll back the ACA and with no significant legislative accomplishment during President Donald Trump’s first seven months in office. “This is clearly a disappointing moment,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said on the Senate floor moments after the vote. “I regret that our efforts were simply not enough this time.” (Peterson, Hackman and Hughes, 7/28)
NPR:
McCain Votes No, Dealing Potential Death Blow To Republican Health Care Efforts
The defeat ends — for now — the health care debate in Congress. The chamber adjourned following the defeat and there are no further Senate votes this week. In the short-term, the Senate intends to move on to defense legislation and the nomination of Christopher Wray to be the next FBI Director. In a written statement from McConnell's office after the vote, he seemed to indicate a GOP-only effort on health care may be dead. (Davis and Montanaro, 7/28)
Los Angeles Times:
McCain, Two Other GOP Senators Join Democrats To Reject Last-Ditch Effort To Repeal Obamacare
Sen. Charles E. Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, said he looked forward to taking a bipartisan approach to healthcare reform. "It’s time to turn the page," he said. "We are not celebrating. We are relieved. "Shortly after the vote, President Trump responded on Twitter: “3 Republicans and 48 Democrats let the American people down. As I said from the beginning, let ObamaCare implode, then deal. Watch!” (Mascaro, 7/27)
The Hill:
Lawmakers Look Forward After ObamaCare Repeal Failure
Senators walked off the floor around 2 a.m. Friday after the stunning defeat of a seven-years-long pledge to repeal and replace ObamaCare, leaving the lawmakers to face one inevitable question: whats next for healthcare reform? Three main answers emerged — bipartisan committee work, stabilizing the insurance markets and administration action to change the healthcare law. (Roubein and Hellmann, 7/28)
The Wall Street Journal:
Insurers Relieved As ‘Skinny’ Health Bill Fails But Warn Of Rising Rates, Exits From Exchanges
Senate Republicans’ failure to pass their limited health bill is a relief for health insurers, but it leaves the companies struggling with increasingly urgent questions as they make decisions about participating in the Affordable Care Act’s exchanges. Insurers had already been pressing for legislation aimed at stabilizing the marketplaces, an idea that is likely to now move into the spotlight with the apparent collapse of Republicans’ efforts to repeal the ACA, also known as Obamacare. But it’s not clear that any bill can move forward fast enough to affect the markets for next year, as insurers must file rates by mid-August and make final decisions about participation by late September. (Wilde Mathews, 7/28)
The Atlantic:
The Limits Of Bullying
While it might have been a long shot given her earlier votes, Republicans might have still salvaged Murkowski's support. But that chance was probably lost when the Trump administration threatened the entire state of Alaska to try to coerce her into backing repeal. Collins seemed opposed to full repeal from the beginning of this process. But if anything, Texas Republican Blake Farenthold's threat to duel her solidified her position rather than weakening it. By the wee hours of Friday morning, as Republican senators huddled around her trying to win their votes, it was too late. (Serwer, 7/28)