Trump repeats claim that ObamaCare repeal couldn’t pass because of senator in hospital – By Mallory Shelbourne (thehill.com) / Sept 28 2017
President Trump in an interview broadcast Thursday again maintained that Republicans have enough votes to repeal ObamaCare and repeated his claim that a GOP senator in the hospital is preventing a vote before Friday.
The lawmaker Trump mentions appears to be Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), who said Wednesday that he is not hospitalized, but recovering at home.
“We have the votes, but reconciliation is a disaster. But as you know, it ends on Friday. So we don’t have enough time, because we have one senator who’s a ‘yes’ vote, a great person, but he’s in the hospital,” Trump told “Fox & Friends” in the interview, which was taped Wednesday in Indiana.
“And he’s a ‘yes’ vote. So we can’t do it by Friday. So we have the votes. We will do it some time at the beginning of the year, but prior to the election in November.”
Trump early Wednesday had made a reference to a senator in the hospital on Twitter, arguing Republicans have enough votes to pass health care reform, despite repeated failed attempts to do so.
“With one Yes vote in hospital & very positive signs from Alaska and two others (McCain is out), we have the HCare Vote, but not for Friday!” the president wrote.
After speculation swirled over Trump’s comment, the tweet caused Cochran to issue a statement Wednesday about his health.
“Thanks for the well-wishes. I’m not hospitalized, but am recuperating at home in Mississippi and look forward to returning to work soon,” Cochran tweeted.
Cochran’s office said the senator is being treated for a urological issue and “expects to resume his regular work schedule soon.”
The Senate this week chose not to have a vote on the latest ObamaCare repeal bill, known as “Graham-Cassidy,” due to its lack of support among several key Republican senators.
PB/TK – Somebody’s tossing bullshit excuses as to why GOP’ers healthcare bill failed again. Sure, fudge the facts a bit as the GOP needed only 2 defectors to kill the bill; McCain and Collins had already voiced ‘no.’ But then too sweeten the pot and add “special somethings” for Alaska, Arizona and Maine only to get “it ain’t enough” as an answer. So we’ll pick some dud, laying at home, recovering from a UTI or something as the culprit, even though he was a “yes” vote and probably could’ve done a voice vote
