After Senate Republicans voted to proceed Tuesday afternoon on the repeal of Obamacare, GOP leaders touted the move as the “beginning” of a long, open process to repeal and replace the health care law.
“This is just the beginning,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) told reporters during a brief press conference after the vote. “We’re not out here to spike the football.”
McConnell said he expects the Senate to finish debating on the legislation by the end of the week, but he would not provide details about which bills or amendments would be offered on the floor. He said that it’s “impossible to predict” what will happen in such a process.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, referenced what he said was an “important message” in Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) speech after the motion to proceed vote, in which he called for bipartisanship. Cornyn called on Democrats to help build a bipartisan health care bill, arguing that “could be the beginning of that healing process” for a “polarized” institution.
