The Republicans’ signature campaign promise to repeal and replace Obamacare came to a sudden halt last 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.
“After conferring with trusted experts regarding the latest version of the Consumer Freedom Amendment, I have decided I cannot support the current version of the Better Care Reconciliation Act,” Sen. Lee said. “In addition to not repealing all of the Obamacare taxes, it doesn’t go far enough in lowering premiums for middle-class families; nor does it create enough free space from the most costly Obamacare regulations.”
Sen. Moran tweeted his official statement in which he voiced his opposition to the Senate’s latest bill, stating, “We should not put our stamp of approval on bad policy.”
The developments ended any hope for Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s bid to overhaul the Affordable Care Act. McConnell could only lose two senators and still pass the bill because Maine’s Susan Collins and Kentucky’s Rand Paul had already defected.
With a 52-48 majority, the two senators’ opposition to the bill means it is effectively dead in the Senate.
