Struggle over Republican health care bill resumes

Pence suggests Obamacare repeal

WASHINGTON — Republican divisions over health care multiplied Monday as President Donald Trump pressured GOP senators to act quickly, and Vice President Mike Pence suggested they might have to revert to a straightforward “Obamacare” repeal if they can’t agree on an alternative.

Consensus on a replacement seemed more remote than ever as senators returned to the Capitol from a Fourth of July recess. Some lawmakers spent the break facing critics of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s bill, or voicing criticism of their own. But Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the No. 2 Republican, told reporters that a revised bill would be unveiled this week, and “the goal continues to be to” vote next week.

McConnell abruptly postponed a vote last month, lacking GOP support for legislation he wrote largely in secret.

To succeed, the new legislation will have to address the concerns of conservatives such as Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Ted Cruz of Texas, who want a more full-blown repeal, and moderates such as Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who want essentially the opposite, a more generous bill.

McConnell has little room for error as he tries to pass a bill with 50 GOP votes, and Pence as the tie-breaker, in a Senate split 52-48 between Republicans and Democrats. Some GOP senators are questioning McConnell’s partisan approach, and the majority leader himself acknowledged to a home-state audience in Kentucky last week that if he can’t get the job done with Republicans alone, he’ll have to turn to Democrats to shore up the market for individual insurance buyers.

Collins, referring to President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, passed in 2010 without a single Republican vote, told reporters: “I believe that we should not repeat the mistake that President Obama made in passing major legislation with no support from the other party.”