Today’s news has been swallowed up by all things Trump, as Don Jr. dumped his own emails onto the Internet in an effort at “transparency” (but he’s only proving that he thought a Kremlin-linked lawyer would give him dirt on Hillary). Elsewhere in Trumpville, the president has been sued by a First Amendment group for blocking U.S. citizens on Twitter. All of this caused many people to completely forget that the Senate GOP is still hammering away at the Better Care Reconciliation Act. They previously postponed a vote until after the July 4th holiday, but now, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has realized they’re not finishing the healthcare bill anytime soon. As such, he’s taken away the first two weeks of the Senate’s August recess:
“To provide more time to complete action on important legislative items and process nominees that have been stalled by a lack of cooperation from our friends across the aisle, the Senate will delay the start of the August recess until the third week of August.”
McConnell also noted that the Senate would be working on “other important issues,” but let’s get real. This is the GOP’s second big swing at repealing and replacing Obamacare. If they don’t succeed this time, there might not be a third shot. Between House Speaker Paul Ryan chiming in to try and reassure Americans that 22 million people won’t really lose health insurance (because they’re “choos[ing]” not to buy it) and a handful of prominent GOP senatorial opponents making themselves known, the legislation won’t reach the threshold needed to pass without big revamps.
Over the past few days, there have been scattered reports that the GOP is feeling “very pessimistic” about the bill, even as Senators Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham pitch in with amendments and rewriting initiatives. Those protesters that were dragged down the hallway next to Mitch McConnell’s office have not been forgotten either, for groups have also been clustering outside Cruz’s office, too. Who knows how this will all play out, but the heat is definitely on Congress this summer.
(Via Washington Post)