Citing a lack of support for the healthcare bill he co-authored, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., announced Tuesday that the Senate will not bring the Graham-Cassidy proposal to a vote this week.
"Well to be clear, through events that are under our control and not under our control we don't have the votes," said Mr. Cassidy. "Speaking to the [Senate] leadership, speaking to the president…we've made the decision that since we don't have the votes we will postpone that vote."
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, announced Monday that she would not support the bill, joining Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., in their opposition to the proposal. Under budget reconciliation rules, which are set to expire Sept. 30, Republicans need 50 votes to pass healthcare legislation, with Vice President Mike Pence acting as a tiebreaker. However, without the support of Ms. Collins, Mr. McCain and Mr. Paul, the GOP only has 49 votes.
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