WASHINGTON
(Reuters) - For seven years, U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell vowed to slay
Obamacare if only his Republican Party controlled both chambers of Congress
and
the White House. Pull it out "root and branch," he pledged.
The
75-year-old Senate majority leader now has that luxury.
But instead
of basking in the glow of his first major legislative victory in the Donald
Trump era, McConnell is what a source close to the majority leader calls
"the man in the middle in an impossible spot."
Late on
Monday and again on Tuesday, after a long struggle, McConnell's efforts to
repeal all or portions of former President Barack Obama's landmark 2010
Affordable Care Act and replace them with less expensive healthcare came
crashing down.
With 52
Republican senators in the 100-member chamber, McConnell could lose only two of
his colleagues on any bill that was opposed by Democrats and still win with
Vice President Mike Pence casting the tie-breaking vote.
Three times,
he failed to muster the 50 supporters needed.
The man who
epitomized "the party of no" in Democrats' eyes during Obama's
presidency, especially when he slammed the door in February 2016 on Merrick
Garland's Supreme Court nomination, fell victim to the "no" of fellow
Republicans.
"We
finally get a chance to repeal and replace, and they don't take advantage of
it," Trump, six months into his four-year presidential term, said on
Tuesday.
Across
Washington, there was dismay Republicans could not deliver on a promise they
assert helped them to assume control in January of Congress and the White
House.
"I am
kind of shocked," said Republican Representative Dave Brat, of the
conservative firebrand House Freedom Caucus that has been a thorn in the side
of the Republican establishment.
His hand
weakened, McConnell could be heading into fierce budget battles, a tax reform
fight and a storm over legislation avoiding a government debt default that
could shake global financial markets.
The result
has Democrats feeling emboldened 16 months before the next congressional
elections.
Reputation
Questioned
Around town,
the sphinxlike McConnell is known as a master of Senate rules, able to outfox
opponents, giving nothing away until he can strike at just the right moment.
The
senator's leadership job, a position he yearned for in the years leading up to
his 2015 ascension, does not appear to be in jeopardy.
But this
rocky run calls into question McConnell's reputation as a master tactician and
deal-maker that he earned as Republican minority leader under the Democratic
Obama.
It is
"a real blow to Republicans in Congress generally and to leadership,"
said former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, a Republican.
More of the
blame sits with the rank-and-file, Lott said. "The problem in Washington
today is not lack of leadership. The problem is lack of followership."
Had
McConnell succeeded, Lott said he would have been "considered a
magician" given the inability of Republicans to coalesce around healthcare
legislation for so many years.
A Republican
operative with ties to McConnell saw a possible silver lining: Failure to pass
healthcare could boost chances for tax reform or infrastructure investment if
Republicans felt it a more urgent political imperative to rack up a win for
Trump before the November 2018 congressional elections.
Fatal Flaws?
McConnell, a
courtly Kentuckian who can appear at pains to speak to reporters nipping at his
heels, won accolades in years past for cutting deals with Democrats to keep the
government operating and making permanent most of former President George W.
Bush's tax cuts.
Those deals
involved giving voters government services and lower taxes. But Republican
healthcare legislation involves taking something away from millions of
lower-income people - their medical coverage.
"In
part they (Republicans) misunderstood how difficult it will be" to repeal
and replace Obamacare, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, a Democrat,
said in a phone interview.
Republican
rhetoric against Obamacare was so "hyperbolic" it had to take
priority early in Trump's presidency, but senators lacked enthusiasm for
legislation, said Daschle, who like Lott lobbies on behalf of healthcare
interests.
Once boxed
into healthcare, McConnell took another controversial step, one that many
Republicans questioned.
Instead of
developing a healthcare bill in public, McConnell and his top aides, with the
advice of a 13-member group of male senators, called the shots.
McConnell
said hearings were unnecessary, as healthcare policy had been intensively
debated since Obama took office in 2009. He said he was listening to
suggestions of all of his 51 fellow Republican senators.
Many senators
felt disconnected and tensions boiled over.
As Monday
wore on, matters only got worse for McConnell.
Republican
Senator Ron Johnson publicly accused him of "a real breach in trust"
in hard-charging back-room negotiations. He threatened to withhold support for
the bill.
McConnell
supporters argued that no matter how he handled the private negotiations, the
Republican leader was dealt a difficult hand from the outset.
"The
majority leader is trying to keep all the frogs in the wheelbarrow and it's a
tough job but he's doing a good job," said Republican Senator Lisa
Murkowski.
And then
there was Trump.
As McConnell
struggled, the president was in France last week celebrating Bastille Day
before jetting back to the United States to attend a tournament at his New
Jersey golf course.
He tweeted
about his excitement at the tournament, his disgust with "fake news"
and an investigation into Russian influence in the 2016 election. Trump boasted
that the White House "is functioning perfectly" and "I have very
little time for watching T.V."
Missing,
some Senate aides said, was Trump traveling the country in a serious effort to
bolster support for McConnell's efforts.
Reuters
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