Party poopers stall repeal
Two more Republican senators on Sunday said they are not on board with legislation to repeal ObamaCare, jeopardizing the GOP’s latest effort to make good on a years-old pledge to scuttle the health-care law.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said the measure doesn’t have his support “right now” and Maine Sen. Susan Collins said it would be “difficult” to see how she could vote for the legislation, which is just one vote away from defeat in the Senate.
“Right now, they don’t have my vote and I don’t think they have [Sen.] Mike Lee’s either,” Cruz said at the Texas Tribune Festival on Sunday.
The Texas Republican said he and Lee (R-Utah) discussed the measure with its sponsors — GOP Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina — about making some changes to the legislation, adding that they wanted to be won over.
“We said if you take these edits we’re a yes,” Cruz said. “Then a day later they removed our edits.”
Lee’s office Sunday confirmed the senator wants some “technical changes” but hasn’t “committed to anything yet.”
Collins admitted that she hasn’t reached a final decision but seemed inclined to oppose the last-ditch maneuver.
“It’s very difficult for me to envision a scenario where I would end up voting for this bill,” she said on CNN.