Five takeaways from ObamaCare repeals collapse
Three Republicans dealt what appears to be a final, fatal blow to their party’s ObamaCare repeal effort on Friday morning after a years long odyssey that now leaves the GOP in the wilderness.
Here are five takeaways from this morning’s drama and the months long Senate repeal fight.
Leadership is ready to move on
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The White House and congressional Republican leaders, however, look ready to move on.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in a floor speech said it was time to switch focus, while Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) signaled a pivot to tax reform.
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Closed process haunts McConnell
Senate Republicans received flack from the beginning of their effort for closing the process to Democrats and keeping their work behind closed doors.
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Dems win by staying united
Democrats face a difficult political map in next year’s midterm elections, when they will be defending 25 seats, including two Independents who caucus with Democrats, compared to eight for Republicans.
That should have given the GOP an opportunity to divide the minority party by making Democratic senators in red states up for reelection feel pressure to back a reform bill.
Instead, it was Republicans who wavered.
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Senate Republican divisions run deep.
Centrist and conservative Republicans were never on the same page, and McConnell’s efforts to win over one side repeatedly cost him votes from the other.
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Trump threats backfire
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Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke called Murkowski and Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) on Wednesday and threatened to withhold federal support for key economic development projects in the state if Murkowski didn’t line up to support the GOP’s healthcare plans.
The threats backfired badly.
Murkowski didn’t change her vote, and she was reportedly furious about the Zinke call. As the chairwoman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, she has power over the Interior Department’s budget, and it’s possible the pressure could have long-term negative effects for Zinke and Trump.
http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/344351-five-takeaways-from-obamacare-repeals-collapse