Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) tamped down suggestions Tuesday that his announcement that the August congressional recess will be delayed for two weeks was a gambit to buy more time to pass an Obamacare repeal bill.
In a press conference after the delay announcement, McConnell said that the GOP was sticking with its timeline to try to pass the bill in the next two weeks or so.
“We’ll be on health care next week,” McConnell said, adding that the text of their revised bill will be released this Thursday, with hopes for a CBO score by early next week and a motion to proceed vote after that. He said the extra two weeks added to the work calendar in August were to process nominations that Republicans blame Democrats for delaying, as well as to deal with other legislative issues.
“We simply, as a result of all this obstructionism, don’t have enough time to address all of these issues between now and the originally anticipated August recess,” McConnell said.
He was later asked if the extra two weeks were a fallback for health care as well.
“We’re going to do health care next week,” McConnell insisted.
