President Donald Trump has a message for lawmakers returning this week from their July Fourth recess with another recess just three weeks away: Get health care done.
The president tweeted Monday, “I cannot imagine that Congress would dare to leave Washington without a beautiful new HealthCare bill fully approved and ready to go!”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell plans to check vital signs on his GOP bill as senators trickle back to Washington from a July Fourth break that many spent listening to constituents vent about health care.
Thus far, there’s no sign he’s secured enough votes to pass a bill. He can only afford to lose two out of 52 Republican senators.
WATCH: Angry at lack of progress, some Congressmen argue for ending summer recess
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that at least 22 million more people would become uninsured under Republican legislation.
The Senate’s 142-page proposal, worked out in secret by a group led by McConnell, aims to deliver on a central Trump campaign promise to undo former President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law, which has provided coverage to 20 million Americans since it was passed in 2010.
Republicans view the law, formally known as the Affordable Care Act, as a costly government intrusion and say individual insurance markets created by it are collapsing.
‘Draft plan is dead’
Two moderate Republicans have indicated that the initial GOP bill to repeal and replace the nation’s health law is probably “dead” and President Donald Trump’s proposal to just repeal it appears to be a “non-starter.”
Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana says, “We don’t know what the plan is. Clearly, the draft plan is dead.”
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., says it may now be time for Republicans to come up with a new proposal with support from Democrats.
He says, “I think my view is it’s probably going to be dead.”
McCain adds that this doesn’t mean Democrats will control the bill if they have a say in it. He adds, “It means they can have amendments considered. And even when they lose, then they’re part of the process.”