GOP leader acknowledges health care drive may fall short

Sens. Mitch McConnell and John Cornyn
US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, left, and Majority Whip John Cornyn speak to the press outside the West Wing of the White House on June 27, 2017.
Nicholas Kamm | AFP | Getty Images File

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says if the Republican effort to repeal much of the Obama health care law fails, a more limited bill will be needed to buttress health insurance marketplaces around the country.

It's an acknowledgment by the Kentucky Republican that his party's top-priority drive to erase much of President Barack Obama's landmark 2010 statute may fall short. The bill needs support from 50 of the 52 Republicans to pass, since all Democrats oppose it.

It also implicitly meant McConnell would have to negotiate with Democrats. That's because legislation to shore up insurers and health care consumers around the country would need 60 votes to pass the Senate, and there are only 52 Republicans.

McConnell was speaking at a Rotary Club luncheon.

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