Two GOP senators said they were willing to support the Senate passing a “skinny” repeal bill after Speaker Paul Ryan Paul Ryan Demonstrators…
Two GOP senators said they were willing to support the Senate passing a “skinny” repeal bill after Speaker Paul Ryan Paul Ryan Demonstrators gather outside Capitol to protest GOP ObamaCare repeal Two GOP senators back ObamaCare repeal after Ryan call McCain says Ryan’s assurance on a healthcare bill is insufficient MORE (R-Wis.) assured them that the two chambers would go to conference.
Five GOP senators — Sens. Lindsey Graham Lindsey Graham Two GOP senators back ObamaCare repeal after Ryan call Ryan assures GOP senators House will go to conference Overnight Healthcare: Four GOP senators threaten to block ‘skinny’ repeal | Healthcare groups blast skinny repeal | GOP single-payer amendment fails in Senate MORE (S. C.) , David Perdue (Ga.) , Ron Johnson Ron Johnson Two GOP senators back ObamaCare repeal after Ryan call McCain says Ryan’s assurance on a healthcare bill is insufficient Ryan assures GOP senators House will go to conference MORE (Wis.) , Mike Rounds (S. D.) and Ted Cruz Ted Cruz Two GOP senators back ObamaCare repeal after Ryan call Four GOP senators threaten to block ‘skinny’ repeal Trump sounds like Pete Wilson — and that scares Calif. GOP MORE (Texas) — spoke with Ryan via phone in Sen. John Cornyn John Cornyn Two GOP senators back ObamaCare repeal after Ryan call Senate sends Russia sanctions bill to Trump’s desk Four GOP senators threaten to block ‘skinny’ repeal MORE ‘s leadership office outside of the Senate floor.
“Yes, he said, listen why would we want to own a bill that increases premiums and doesn’t fix ObamaCare — that’s all I wanted to hear from him, ” Graham told reporters when asked if Ryan guaranteed the House wouldn’t pass a paired down Senate repeal bill.
Pressed if he would vote “yes” on the Senate GOP healthcare bill after his conversation with Ryan, Graham said he would.
Johnson added that “of course” the talk with Ryan was enough to assuage his concerns.
“We just wanted to hear it right from Paul. … We got that assurance. He said we could tell you — this is going to go to conference, ” the conservative GOP senator said.
Johnson added that any bill that passes the Senate “will not pass the House. This will go to conference. … That’s what we got.”
Johnson and Graham, as well as GOP Sens. Bill Cassidy (La.) and John McCain John McCain Two GOP senators back ObamaCare repeal after Ryan call McCain says Ryan’s assurance on a healthcare bill is insufficient Ryan assures GOP senators House will go to conference MORE (Ariz.) , warned earlier Thursday that they could not support moving forward with a “skinny” repeal bill until they got a guarantee that the House would not leapfrog a conference with Senate and pass the bill.
Paul issued a statement saying the House was “willing” to go to conference on the healthcare bills, but that it was up to Senate Republicans to first show they could pass a bill.
McCain told reporters while heading into the Senate chamber for a pair of votes that Ryan’s statement wasn’t sufficient.
He then appeared to walk that back slightly, telling Bloomberg that he declined to say how he would vote, saying he wanted to talk to his state’s governor.
Separately, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito Shelley Moore Capito Two GOP senators back ObamaCare repeal after Ryan call Bare-bones repeal plan gains steam in Senate Overnight Healthcare: Senate rejects repeal-only ObamaCare plan | Ads target Heller, Capito over vote | Dem says ObamaCare repeal effort moving US ‘toward single-payer’ MORE (R-W. Va.) told reporters while leaving the GOP caucus room that she “didn’t know how to interpret” Ryan’s statement.
