The Republicans’ signature campaign promise to repeal and replace Obamacare came to a screeching halt Monday night after Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Jerry Moran of Kansas came together, shocked Capitol Hill and vowed to vote against the latest draft of the GOP’s health care bill.
“We should not put our stamp of approval on bad policy,” Moran said in a bold statement that derailed Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s bid to overhaul the Affordable Care Act. McConnell could only lose two senators and still pass the bill, and Maine’s Susan Collins and Kentucky’s Rand Paul had already defected.
Across town, over rosemary-grilled rib eye and summer vegetable succotash at the White House, President Donald Trump and GOP leaders were attempting to convince a group of reliably conservative rank-and-filers to join with them and vote for the health care bill. But as they dined on lemon ricotta agnolotti with heirloom tomato ragout and the “farm stand peach cobbler,” the Senate rebellion against the health care bill was well underway.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member