After working through the night, House Energy and Commerce Committee member Rep. Tony Cardenas (D-Calif.) stretches Thursday while members of the committee argue the details of the GOP's Obamacare replacement bill. | AP Photo Obamacare repeal moves forward after marathon committee hearings

House Republicans on Thursday achieved their goal of getting their Obamacare repeal bill through two key committees, despite significant intra-party fights over the package and opposition from influential health industry groups.

Tax-writers on the House Ways and Means Committee this morning completed a nearly 18-hour legislative session by scrapping a series of tax-related provisions in the law, including the unpopular mandate that most Americans get insurance or pay a penalty. The Energy and Commerce Committee followed suit hours later, ending a nearly 28-hour markup of its portion of repeal legislation on Thursday afternoon after working all through the night.


And at the end of the marathon markups, the bills were unchanged.

In the process, Republicans united to train their fire at a health care law that they say is on the verge of implosion – and not each other. And they gave Democrats plenty of time to vent over a process that they, along with some Republicans, say was rushed without allowing a full understanding of potentially harmful provisions within the GOP health care alternative.

“This is a historic step, an important step, in the repeal of Obamacare — in freeing millions of Americans, patients and local businesses from that pain,” said Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady.

However, the Republicans’ success getting the bill through markups doesn't guarantee they can eventually pass it through Congress. Ultimately, that will depend on the White House and congressional leadership corralling enough conservatives and moderates who've expressed deep reservations about the House plan.

There were some signs on Thursday that Energy and Commerce Committee Republicans were trying to tweak the bill to win over a large faction of House conservatives who’ve dubbed the House plan “Obamacare lite.” The Republican Study Committee said it would support an amendment from Reps. Joe Barton (R-Texas) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) that would freeze Medicaid expansion enrollment at the end of this year, two years sooner than the GOP repeal bill allows. But Barton withdrew the amendment, which could have antagonized moderates who don’t want the GOP replacement to deeply erode coverage in their states.

President Donald Trump signaled to conservative groups Wednesday night that he could accept a quicker phase-out of the Medicaid expansion or even abandoning repeal altogether, claiming Republicans could pin Obamacare’s failures on Democrats for another two years. However, that could alienate Republican moderates who fear they would result in major coverage losses or outrage the base that expects Republicans — in control of the House, Senate and White House — to get rid of Obamacare entirely.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell waved off concerns from some Republicans — including his state’s junior senator, Rand Paul — that Congress is moving too fast on Obamacare repeal.

“What we're arguing about is around the edges,” McConnell said during a POLITICO Live breakfast.

Paul signaled, however, that he’s not ready to support the GOP bill, despite public pressure from Trump. Paul, who’s argued that Republicans should first repeal Obamacare before hammering out a replacement, on Thursday reintroduced a bill that would gut major pieces of the health care law. It’s the same bill that Republicans backed in late 2015 and was later vetoed by President Barack Obama.

Health care industry groups have largely come out against the Republican bill since it was unveiled Monday night. Numerous physician organizations and every major hospital association said the bill, which would cap Medicaid spending and replace income-based subsidies with tax credits pegged to age and income, could hurt the most vulnerable patients. Insurers said the bill could further destabilize an already-fragile individual market.

In typical fashion, Trump dismissed news reports showing deep discord over a top administration priority. Trump claimed the repeal process is running smoothly behind the scenes, despite uproar from his right and left flanks.

Ryan: This is the last chance to repeal Obamacare Speaker Ryan talks about Obamacare on Thursday.

“Despite what you hear in the press, healthcare is coming along great. We are talking to many groups and it will end in a beautiful picture!” he tweeted on Thursday afternoon. At the same time, Speaker Paul Ryan was delivering a PowerPoint presentation on the GOP health plan during his weekly press briefing.

House Democrats have vowed to do all they can to stand in the way of the legislative process, warning that that the GOP plan would strip coverage from millions of vulnerable Americans and trigger massive political backlash. Ways and Means Democrats unsuccessfully offered dozens of amendments in a bid to slow the markup, criticizing Republicans throughout the night for using the legislation to ease the tax burden for corporations and the richest Americans.

"My fear is that Republicans don’t want an open and transparent process because they don’t want feedback from their constituents and the American people,” said Energy & Commerce ranking member Frank Pallone (D-N.J.).

Democrats charged Republicans with rushing the bill through, before the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office could estimate its cost or the number of people who could lose coverage. Health care groups and Obamacare proponents have predicted that the repeal bill will result in massive coverage losses.

Republicans brushed off the complaints, knowing they had the votes to advance the first stage of repeal.

"I really do believe that we need to take action tonight so that we are rescuing folks who have been burdened and hurt," said Rep. Kenny Marchant (R-Texas.) "It [Obamacare] has hurt more folks than it has helped."

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The hearings have allowed the GOP to show solidarity after days of discord over the repeal effort. The Ways and Means panel endorsed five tax provisions in all, including a roll back of Obamacare taxes on the pharmaceutical and insurance industries and the establishment of a new system of age-based tax credits to help purchase insurance. Those moves represent a major step toward easing Obamacare’s regulatory burden and making health insurance more affordable and accessible, Republicans said.

“If you look at our bill, we’re systematically trying to remove those taxes that’ve been woven into people's premiums,” Rep. David Schweikert (R-Ariz) said.

Ways and Means Committee Republicans ended the markup where they began almost a full day earlier: blasting Obamacare as a failure and promising the House’s repeal bill will fix it.

“I would hope we can all agree this is not how health care is supposed to be,” Rep. Mike Bishop (R-Mich.) said. “That is unacceptable and we can and must do better.”

Jennifer Haberkorn, Paul Demko and Brianna Ehley contributed to this report.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misidentified Rep. Mike Bishop.