Dem Senator: I Don’t Want To Say O’Care Repeal Is DOA In The Senate, But It Is

FILE In this Feb. 1, 2017 file photo, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. is interviewed by The Associated Press in his office on Capitol Hill in Washington. Emboldened by a wave of outrage against President Donald Trump, groups of liberal activists are targeting Democratic incumbents they consider too accommodating to the new administration. Their efforts could make life awfully uncomfortable for a party dreaming of an electoral come-back next year.  (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
FILE - In this Feb. 1, 2017, file photo, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. speaks during an Associated Press interview in his office on Capitol Hill in Washington. It's a rare and momentous decision, one by one, seated at de... FILE - In this Feb. 1, 2017, file photo, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. speaks during an Associated Press interview in his office on Capitol Hill in Washington. It's a rare and momentous decision, one by one, seated at desks centuries old, senators will stand and cast their votes for a Supreme Court nominee. It's a difficult political call in the modern era, especially for the 10 Democrats facing tough re-election next year in states that President Donald Trump won. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File) MORE LESS
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Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) on Thursday said that while Republicans may be able to get their latest attempt to repeal and replace Obamacare through the House, they will not have enough Senate votes to send the bill to President Donald Trump’s desk.

“With this bill here, I said there is no way, no way, that I understand this process,” Manchin said in an interview with Politico.

He said Republicans have the “power of the majority” to pass the measure through the Senate with 51 votes through a process called budget reconciliation, but questioned whether that will be enough.

“The power of the Senate and the way the Senate works, it takes usually 60 votes to fix things,” Manchin said. “Why would you throw the baby out with the bathwater with 51 and then try to basically bring the baby back to life and resuscitate it with 60? The votes aren’t there.”

He said there are “ways to fix” Obamacare through bipartisan compromise.

“Why won’t we just say, we’re going to repair this? There’s not a Democrat that I know of that doesn’t think it needs to be fixed,” Manchin said. “But there’s going to be a lot of harm that can be done, so I can’t say it’s dead on arrival, but they don’t have 60 votes.”

“So it’s dead on arrival,” a reporter said.

Manchin shrugged, laughing.

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Notable Replies

  1. I am shocked! Who’d have thought the House would dump this POS on the Senate knowing it would die? Those courageous GOP House members …

  2. “Why would you throw the baby out with the bathwater with 51 and then try to basically bring the baby back to life and resuscitate it with 60? The votes aren’t there.”

    If they have to pass a half-assed version to get it through via reconciliation, then that’s what they will do.

    That ain’t rocket science. They’ll pass anything they can ram through that sidesteps a filibuster.

  3. You are already on very very thin ice Joe.

  4. Let the House pass it…while I would rather see it crash and burn there, I’m going to love watching the town halls and the 2018 campaign with these GOP cretins ON THE RECORD for taking away health care to more an 24 million people.

  5. House Republicans line up to vote for Trumpcare 3.

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