Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell reportedly reassured White House officials that he was not changing his strategy on legislation to repeal Obamacare, The Hill reported Saturday.
CNN reported that two White House officials were caught off guard after McConnell made remarks last week indicating he could seek bipartisan support on healthcare legislation to stabilize funds on Obamacare exchanges if the Senate was unable to pass new legislation.
"If my side is unable to agree on an adequate replacement, then some kind of action with regard to the private health insurance market must occur," McConnell told constituents in Glasgow, Kentucky on Thursday. "No action is not an alternative. We've got the insurance markets imploding all over the country, including in this state."
Last week President Donald Trump suggested lawmakers could vote on a repeal of Obamacare, and work to replace the healthcare legislation later. Several senators indicated they were warming to that idea, but McConnell maintained the Senate would continue to work towards a repeal and replace bill.
Senate leaders were "trying to figure out how to twist the dials to get to 50 to replace this with something better," he said.
There's already resistance to a bipartisan approach to working with Democrats on making changes to Obamacare to solve its funding woes. Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., said at a GOP event in Iowa Republicans would be breaking a campaign promise if they tried to work with Democrats before repealing Obamacare.
And, the conservative political advocacy group Heritage Action released a statement Friday that said "talk of a bipartisan bailout of Obamacare… would embolden Republican moderates" and would "undermine honest efforts that empower states to get out from under Obamacare's burdensome regulations."
Several Republican lawmakers, including Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said they couldn't support the bill in its current form and have offered alternative amendments to help secure the 50 votes needed to pass.
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