Trump Wants To Blow Up Senate Rules After Obamacare Repeal Push Collapses

President Donald Trump speaks during an energy roundtable with tribal, state, and local leaders in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Wednesday, June 28, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
President Donald Trump speaks during an energy roundtable with tribal, state, and local leaders in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Wednesday, June 28, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
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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.

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.

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Notable Replies

  1. the bill got 49 votes, not 59. The rules weren’t the problem.

  2. Donnie, clean up your own house before you cast aspersions on another! Mind. Your. Own. Business. Dope!!

  3. This was a great result for Trump, a tremendous result. Without the 51 votes against it, the bill would have passed 49-0. Amazing!

  4. Somebody needs to tell this bitch to stay in his damn LANE!

    He is not a DICTATOR and he ONLY CONTROLS ONE (1) AKA “UNO” BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT!

    Once he get’s that through that mule jughead brain of his, maybe just maybe he can turn from his very own swallowing tide!

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