Kentucky Senator Rand Paul is one of the original four senators to oppose the Senate’s version of an Obamacare replacement bill. The others were Ted Cruz, Mike Lee, and Ron Johnson.
Nevada Senator Dean Heller later joined, although his objection was to possible Medicaid cuts, rather than a concern that the bill, as written, did nothing to lower the costs of premiums for consumers.
On Tuesday, Senator Paul was invited to the White House for a meeting with President Trump.
Trump has been reaching out to the various holdouts on the Senate bill, hoping to change some minds before the bill comes up for a vote.
Last week, he called Senator Ted Cruz.
After leaving the White House meeting, Senator Paul tweeted:
Just came from WH. @realDonaldTrump is open to making bill better. Is Senate leadership?
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) June 27, 2017
That remains to be seen, Senator.
The Senate were hoping for a procedural move as early as Tuesday, in order to proceed with a vote at the end of this week. It quickly became clear, however, that to try and rush the move was not popular, even with those who have expressed support for the bill.
Senator Susan Collins rejected the call for a procedural move on Monday, citing the CBO score as the reason for her sudden apprehension. That does not bode well for the bill, itself.
The remaining members of the Senate have apparently taken the hint, and the latest news is that they will delay the vote until after the July 4 recess.
In the meantime, I’m sure they, nor the president are finished with their efforts to win back the necessary votes.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member