“You can't promise folks you're going to do something for seven years, and then not do it," White House budget director Mick Mulvaney said. | Getty Mulvaney: No other votes until Senate votes again on health care

The Senate should not vote on anything else until it’s voted again on repealing Obamacare, White House budget director Mick Mulvaney said Sunday.

Mulvaney said that “yes,” it's official White House policy that the Senate shouldn’t hold a vote on another issue — not even an imminent crisis like raising the debt ceiling— until the Senate votes again on health care.


“In the White House's view, they can't move on in the Senate,” Mulvaney said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “You can't promise folks you're going to do something for seven years, and then not do it.”

The House, which has passed an Obamacare repeal measure, is on its summer break until after Labor Day, but the Senate plans to work at least another two weeks.

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In a string of recent tweets, President Donald Trump has urged Republican senators to not “give up” on repealing Obamacare and to continue to work on the issue “unless the Republican senators are total quitters.”

Trump also tweeted about ending "bailouts" for lawmakers’ health care. On Sunday, Mulvaney said that has to do with how much employers can contribute to their plan, not taking away coverage for members and staff.

“The special exemption dealt with the employer contribution, how much your employer — when you're a member of Congress, that's the federal government — can contribute to your coverage. And that's the rule that the president was talking about in his tweet yesterday,” Mulvaney explained.