Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) said Wednesday that he “can’t imagine” he would have enough time to evaluate and vote on a health care bill within a week, despite reports that senators are preparing for a vote by June 29 or 30.
A group of Republican senators, including Johnson, have so far written the bill in secret. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) would not commit on Monday that the public would have even 10 hours to review the legislative text before a vote.
“What I’ve told leadership very clearly is I’m going to need time and my constituents are going to need time to evaluate exactly how this is going to affect them,” Johnson told CNN’s Chris Cuomo. “So I personally think that holding a vote on this next week would definitely be rushed. I can’t imagine, quite honestly, that I’d have the information to evaluate and justify a yes vote within just a week.”
He added later: “I want to fully vet it in the public. I want to make sure that my constituents have enough time to provide input. Again, I’m not going to criticize the process unless we start taking the vote way too early, before we have time to get the information.”
“That’s what your leader is telling you he wants to do,” Cuomo interjected.
“Well, you know, that will be a decision he’ll make,” Johnson said. “But I’ve told him unless I have the input from my constituents — unless I have got the information I need to justify a yes vote, I won’t be voting yes.”
The Republican senator made similar criticisms of his leadership’s decision to pass the bill through reconciliation, which avoids the threat of a Democratic filibuster requiring 60 votes for cloture.
“I don’t necessarily agree with that. But that was the decision made, so you’ve got a bill that had to be crafted by Republicans,” Johnson said.
He added: “It’s been a very open process within the Republican conference.”
Johnson also hinted at his personal preference for the legislation: that it “stabilize” insurance markets first, in part by funding the subsidies that President Donald Trump has threatened to hold hostage in order to sabotage Obamacare.
“Is part of your idea to have the federal government put through the subsidies that the President is threatening which is having an effect on the destabilization?” Cuomo asked at one point.
“I mean, that’s what we’re going to have to do,” Johnson said.
