The Search For 50 Votes

image
Published: 20 Jul, 2017
1 min read

It was an all nighter for GOP Senate leaders as they search for 50 votes to open a debate on ObamaCare repeal-and-replace legislation.

And a change in tactics.

The meeting between lawmakers came after a scolding at the White House from President Trump, who demanded they come up with a solution to the repeal and replace ObamaCare.

The move reverses course from their plans to move to a vote on a straight repeal of ObamaCare.

It’s not clear if they will have any more luck this time in corralling enough centrist and conservative Republicans to move the bill forward.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) needs to win 50 votes to proceed and has faced opposition from conservatives, who believe the previous bill kept too much of ObamaCare, and centrists, who think it would leave too many people without affordable insurance.

GOP leaders haven’t closed the door on bringing a straight repeal of ObamaCare, with a two-year delay, to the floor.

But Trump, on Wednesday told Republican senators at a White House lunch that repealing ObamaCare without a replacement was not an option.

“We can repeal it, but we should repeal it and replace, and we shouldn’t leave town until this is complete, until this bill is on my desk,” Trump said.

IVP Donate

Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn from Texas told reporters that while the repeal-only bill might come to the floor, he preferred to negotiate a version of the repeal-and-replace bill, known as the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA).

“If we can get an agreement here, my preference would be to start with the BCRA, agree to language — and I think we’re getting closer,” he said.

You Might Also Like

Trump sitting in the oval office with a piece of paper with a cannabis leaf on his desk.
Is Trump About to Outflank Democrats on Cannabis? Progressives Sound the Alarm
As President Donald Trump signals renewed interest in reclassifying cannabis from a Schedule I drug to Schedule III, a policy goal long championed by liberals and libertarians, the reaction among some partisan progressive advocates is not celebration, but concern....
08 Dec, 2025
-
5 min read
Malibu, California.
From the Palisades to Simi Valley, Independent Voters Poised to Decide the Fight to Replace Jacqui Irwin
The coastline that defines California’s mythology begins here. From Malibu’s winding cliffs to the leafy streets of Brentwood and Bel Air, through Topanga Canyon and into the valleys of Calabasas, Agoura Hills, and Thousand Oaks, the 42nd Assembly District holds some of the most photographed, most coveted, and most challenged terrain in the state. ...
10 Dec, 2025
-
6 min read
Ranked choice voting
Ranked Choice for Every Voter? New Bill Would Transform Every Congressional Election by 2030
As voters brace for what is expected to be a chaotic and divisive midterm election cycle, U.S. Representatives Jamie Raskin (Md.), Don Beyer (Va.), and U.S. Senator Peter Welch (Vt.) have re-introduced legislation that would require ranked choice voting (RCV) for all congressional primaries and general elections beginning in 2030....
10 Dec, 2025
-
3 min read