Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he’s delaying a vote on the newest Republican plan to replace Obamacare. In a Capitol Hill press conference, McConnell said that President Donald Trump will be working to build a consensus among the 52 Republican Senators.
“We need to get this far enough down the path to where there were a few issues extant that needed to be closed and we’re delaying the process so we can delay those remaining issues and he’s fully engaged and being helpful in every way that he can.” McConnell said.
McConnell had originally planned to call a vote by the end of this week.
“I remember how challenging it was for the Democrats when they were enacting this back in 2009 and 2010. It’s a big, complicated subject. We’ve got a lot of discussions going on and we’re still optimistic we’re going to get there.” McConnell said.
The announcement comes after the Congressional Budget Office reported that 22 million people would lose health coverage under the plan. A handful of Republicans, including Kentucky’s junior senator Rand Paul, have said they won’t vote for the bill in its current form. McConnell says he plans to pass the bill without any votes from Democrats.
