Asked if the Senate would hold an Obamacare repeal vote before the Senate's budget reconciliation instructions expire, Sen. John Cornyn replied: “I don’t believe so." | John Shinkle/POLITICO Senate GOP accepting defeat on Obamacare repeal Passing a bill by a key end-of-month deadline appears almost impossible for Republicans.

Senate Republicans are throwing cold water on the idea of holding another Obamacare repeal vote before their opportunity to gut the law on a party-line vote expires at the end of this month.

Though President Donald Trump and some Senate Republicans are pushing a plan being devised by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) to block grant federal health care funding to the states and keep much of Obamacare's taxes, the idea of passing the measure by month's end appears almost impossible, according to senators and aides.


The bill isn't finished yet, there is no Congressional Budget Office score, and some Republicans are working with Democrats on a bipartisan plan to shore up insurance markets. Furthermore, Republicans don't have a plan that can get 50 votes.

And that means the dream of repealing the law with all GOP votes is slipping away, at least for now, as Republicans turn to tax reform.

"We’ve seen that we don’t have 51 votes to do it, so we’re going to have to do it bipartisan," said Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas in an interview on Thursday morning. Asked whether the Senate would hold an Obamacare repeal vote before the Senate's budget reconciliation instructions expire, he replied: “I don’t believe so."

"I don't think there's much of a chance," said Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, the Senate Finance Committee Chairman. "I think that was pretty well decided by McCain."

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The Senate parliamentarian ruled that the GOP's party-line attempts to repeal the law will fall away after Sept. 30. Republicans can write new ones, but they are aiming to use the next budget reconciliation vehicle to overhaul the tax code with 50 votes. Reconciliation allows the Senate majority to evade a Democratic filibuster and the chamber's 60-vote threshold.

Privately, some Republicans said they were relieved about the parliamentarian's ruling because they are eager to avoid another frantic attempt to gut the law.

In July, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) voted down the party's repeal effort, opposing the slapdash effort to pass a "skinny" repeal bill and get into conference with the House after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's comprehensive repeal and replace efforts faced internal GOP opposition.

Since that vote, Trump, Cassidy and Graham have been pressing for their plan, hoping to gain support from GOP governors and hurriedly pass their proposal before the deadline. Republicans are still cognizant of their seven-year promise to repeal the law, and some are still hoping that quest isn't over.

"Mitch had said if we get 50 votes he'll bring it up. The president is all in. And we think we're going to have governor support. Between it all, I think we can put it together," Cassidy said in an interview. He said his new legislation would be submitted by Monday morning at the latest.

"This problem is not going away. I've been part of those discussions and am working with those as well. I think it's got a great deal of appeal," said Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.). "I know the time is short."

Kellyanne Conway, an adviser to Trump, said this week that he would sign the Graham-Cassidy bill. Trump has been pushing the idea hard from the White House, and Graham said this week the president "loves" the block grant idea.

McCain signaled support for the effort on Wednesday afternoon, boosting some Republicans' hopes of finding an elusive solution and alarming liberals.

"A flip-flop vote from McCain could literally mean the end of Obamacare," the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee wrote in a fundraising email on Thursday. "We can’t let our guard down on Obamacare repeal until the September 30 deadline — not even for a minute and definitely not now that McCain is switching sides."

But McCain's office subsequently stated that he preferred not to use the GOP's closed repeal process to revamp the health care system. And that appeared to put an end to Republicans' long-sought effort to dismantle President Barack Obama's primary domestic achievement.

“I’m sure we’ll vote on some Obamacare-related language at some point," Cornyn said. "I Just don’t know exactly what it’s going to be."