After the Senate’s latest effort to repeal Obamacare sputtered out early Friday morning, blocking President Donald Trump from finally notching a legislative victory, the President suggested nuking the Senate rules.
If Republicans are going to pass great future legislation in the Senate, they must immediately go to a 51 vote majority, not senseless 60…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 28, 2017
…Even though parts of healthcare could pass at 51, some really good things need 60. So many great future bills & budgets need 60 votes….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 28, 2017
Republicans control the Senate with a slim majority of 52 senators, and on most legislation, Democrats can force a 60-vote threshold, making it challenging for leaders to pass a purely partisan bill. For that reason, Senate leaders used the reconciliation process, which only requires a 51-vote majority, to craft their Obamacare repeal legislation. Even that strategy ran into some hurdles when the Senate parliamentarian ruled that certain key provisions in the Better Care Reconciliation Act could not be included in a reconciliation bill.
So with the Senate parliamentarian nixing provisions and GOP leaders unable to garner enough support for the bill anyway, the Senate turned to the bare-bones “skinny repeal,” which also went up in flames.
In response, Trump turned to his typical devices, calling for a major change in strategy in order for him to score one legislative victory. This is not the first time he’s called for a big change to Senate rules: He urged the GOP to nuke the legislative filibuster in the Senate twice before, once in early May and once in late May.
However, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has said he will not blow up the legislative filibuster, although he was willing to remove the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees earlier this year.
Earlier Friday morning, Trump suggested that Republicans just let Obamacare “implode” before eventually crafting a replacement. This is another strategy that Trump has turned to when Congress struggles on health care.
Yet, in his speech following the failed vote Friday morning, McConnell suggested Democrats come forward with their ideas next.
