U.S. Senate Republican Ron Johnson of Wisconsin says he will not give up trying to repeal and replace Obamacare. That’s what he told participants in a “telephone town hall” phone session Tuesday night.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell scrapped an initial vote Tuesday on the Graham Cassidy legislation that Johnson co sponsored, after it failed to attract the 50 votes needed for passage. It would have given block grants to states to handle federal Medicaid contributions as they choose — but critics said those grants would have totaled less than what’s given out now. Johnson says he hopes the bill can be considered later.
“We just simply ran out of time,” Johnson said on CNN Wednesday morning. “That was unfortunate. The process was rushed. I think people that were concerned about it had legitimate concerns. But we can do it again.”
In addition to failing to advance Graham Cassidy, McConnell suffered a second setback on Tuesday, when the candidate he backed lost, in the Alabama Senate primary.
Johnson was asked about McConnell’s future in the leadership post. “He has to herd cats. There’s nothing easy about, I don’t envy his task. What we need to do is concentrate the shared goals and purposes of, first of all, the American public.”