McConnell Pulls Vote On BCRA

Mitch McConnell has apparently pulled the vote on the BCRA and is postponing the vote, according to multiple sources including MSNBC. Whether that delay extends beyond the July recess is unclear until McConnell speaks in a few minutes. This is a huge win for the resistance. But this is just another battle in the war. Remember what happened in the House. Even after a recess where GOP representatives got absolutely hammered, Republicans came back and passed the horrific and cruel AHCA. This win should mean that the resistance needs to be even more aggressive in expressing opposition to the BCRA while Senators are on recess.

Mitch McConnell will have to come back to this issue at some point, if only because the GOP is now in danger of being blamed for the problems with Obamacare next year. Whether that means taking another run at jamming something similar to the BCRA through with just Republican votes or actually working with Democrats to craft some necessary tweaks to Obamacare, as McConnell threatened earlier today is also unclear. But Republicans hate the individual mandate and want it repealed while Democrats understand that the mandate is one of the three legs that make the ACA work. It seems hard to bridge that divide.

In the meantime, the calendar gets even more difficult for the Senate. It’s hard to see how the Republicans can move forward with tax reform, having not finished health care. In addition, the clock is also ticking on the budget and raising the debt ceiling, both of which would be contentious issues within the GOP caucus and may even require Democratic votes.