The Paths Forward For Republicans Are Politically Unpalatable
GOP lawmakers are faced with three options that aren't ideal for retaining their political power: keep negotiating, starve the health law until it collapses or come up with a moderate "repair" bill. Meanwhile, Politico also looks at why the health law is so hard to repeal, and the Senate's reaction to all the uncertainty in the House.
Politico:
No Good GOP Options If Obamacare Repeal Fails
If their latest Obamacare repeal efforts fail, Republicans really have only a few options. And each means political peril for President Donald Trump and Republican congressional leaders. (Cancryn and Demko, 5/3)
Politico:
Why Democrats Secretly Want An Obamacare Repeal Vote
House Democrats think they’ve finally found their path back to power: Republicans voting to repeal Obamacare. Yes, the best thing to happen to House Democrats since they pushed through the sprawling health care law — and lost the majority as a result — could be the Republican drive to dismantle it. (Caygle, 5/3)
Kaiser Health News:
Clock Is Ticking On GOP Bill: 5 Ways Health Care Tug-Of-War May Play Out
House leaders stressed that they are still working to muster a majority to pass the bill, which was originally scheduled for a full floor vote in March. Here are some possible ways the effort could play out. (Rovner, 5/3)
Politico:
5 Reasons Why It’s So Hard To Repeal Obamacare
Republicans voted more than 60 times to dismantle the Affordable Care Act when Barack Obama was president. But now that the GOP finally holds the White House and can take the law apart, they’ve spent months failing to get enough votes for a repeal bill to even clear the House of Representatives. Why is repealing Obamacare so complicated? Start with these five factors. (Diamond, 5/2)
Politico:
Senate GOP Frets House Could Blow It On Obamacare
Senate Republicans are backing off their criticism of the House Republicans’ Obamacare repeal proposal, wary of the consequences that a second failure would have for the party’s quest to gut the law. (Everett, 5/2)
