Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told members of a Glasgow Rotary this week if the Republican effort to repeal much of the Obama health care law fails, a more limited bill will be needed to buttress health insurance marketplaces around the country.
It's an acknowledgment that his party's top-priority drive to erase much of President Obama's landmark 2010 statute may fall short. The bill needs support from 50 of the 52 Republicans to pass, since all Democrats oppose it.
It also implicitly meant McConnell would have to negotiate with Democrats. That's because legislation to shore up insurers and health care consumers around the country would need 60 votes to pass the Senate, and there are only 52 Republicans.
