1 00:00:01,933 --> 00:00:04,100 JUDY WOODRUFF: The latest Senate Republican push to replace the Affordable Care Act has 2 00:00:04,100 --> 00:00:05,700 come to nothing. 3 00:00:05,700 --> 00:00:08,566 Now party leaders say they will try for just repeal. 4 00:00:08,566 --> 00:00:12,933 Lisa Desjardins begins our coverage of the past tumultuous 24 hours. 5 00:00:12,933 --> 00:00:14,966 SEN. 6 00:00:14,966 --> 00:00:17,233 MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), Majority Leader: I regret that the effort to repeal and immediately 7 00:00:17,233 --> 00:00:21,933 replace the failures of Obamacare will not be successful. 8 00:00:21,933 --> 00:00:26,633 LISA DESJARDINS: A remarkable statement and a bitter admission for Senate Majority Leader 9 00:00:26,633 --> 00:00:31,633 Mitch McConnell, that Republicans still can't muster the votes on a health care bill. 10 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:36,766 It became clear last night, after Utah's Mike Lee and Jerry Moran of Kansas said they'd 11 00:00:37,733 --> 00:00:39,666 vote against the revised version. 12 00:00:39,666 --> 00:00:42,900 With that, McConnell changed course, and decided to go for pure repeal. 13 00:00:42,900 --> 00:00:45,066 SEN. 14 00:00:45,066 --> 00:00:46,666 MITCH MCCONNELL: A majority of the Senate voted to pass the same repeal legislation 15 00:00:46,666 --> 00:00:48,466 back in 2015. 16 00:00:48,466 --> 00:00:51,133 President Obama vetoed it then. 17 00:00:51,133 --> 00:00:55,233 President Trump -- President Trump will sign it now. 18 00:00:55,233 --> 00:01:00,266 LISA DESJARDINS: McConnell proposed delaying the effective date of repeal for two years, 19 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:03,433 so both parties can work out a replacement. 20 00:01:03,433 --> 00:01:08,433 But, almost immediately, three Republicans came out as no's to McConnell's idea That's 21 00:01:09,433 --> 00:01:11,933 enough to kill it. 22 00:01:11,933 --> 00:01:15,733 Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, and Susan Collins of Maine 23 00:01:15,733 --> 00:01:20,466 all said it is too risky to repeal without an immediate plan for what next. 24 00:01:20,466 --> 00:01:22,533 SEN. 25 00:01:22,533 --> 00:01:26,466 SUSAN COLLINS (R), Maine: I do not think it is going to be constructive to repeal a law 26 00:01:28,400 --> 00:01:32,266 that, at this point, is so interwoven in our health care system, and then hope that, over 27 00:01:35,066 --> 00:01:39,266 the next two years, we will come up with some kind of replacement. 28 00:01:39,266 --> 00:01:44,200 LISA DESJARDINS: At the same time, Democrats are flexing their muscles against repeal. 29 00:01:44,200 --> 00:01:45,200 Minority Leader Chuck Schumer: 30 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:47,400 SEN. 31 00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:51,200 CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), Minority Leader: Passing repeal now is not a door to bipartisan solutions, 32 00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:54,233 as the majority leader suggested this morning. 33 00:01:54,233 --> 00:01:57,133 Rather, it is a disaster. 34 00:01:57,133 --> 00:02:00,966 The door to bipartisanship is open right now. 35 00:02:00,966 --> 00:02:05,700 Not with repeal, but with an effort to improve the existing system. 36 00:02:05,700 --> 00:02:10,200 LISA DESJARDINS: Even though it seems certain to fail, Republican leaders said they're going 37 00:02:10,200 --> 00:02:13,166 to press forward and hold a vote some time soon. 38 00:02:13,166 --> 00:02:14,833 SEN. 39 00:02:14,833 --> 00:02:17,100 MITCH MCCONNELL: Well, I think we will have to see what happens. 40 00:02:17,100 --> 00:02:22,100 We will have demonstrated that Republicans by themselves are not prepared at this point 41 00:02:23,500 --> 00:02:25,200 to do a replacement. 42 00:02:25,200 --> 00:02:28,500 DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States: We're not going own it. 43 00:02:28,500 --> 00:02:30,533 I'm not going to own it. 44 00:02:30,533 --> 00:02:32,633 LISA DESJARDINS: At the White House, President Trump was left lamenting the latest health 45 00:02:32,633 --> 00:02:36,066 care failure, and insisting the fault lies elsewhere. 46 00:02:36,066 --> 00:02:40,733 DONALD TRUMP: For seven years, I have been hearing repeal and replace from Congress. 47 00:02:40,733 --> 00:02:42,733 And I have been hearing it loud and strong. 48 00:02:42,733 --> 00:02:46,800 And then, when we finally get a chance to repeal and replace, they don't take advantage 49 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:48,900 of it. 50 00:02:48,900 --> 00:02:51,400 We will let Obamacare fail, and then the Democrats are going to come to us and they're going 51 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:53,700 to say, how do we fix it, how do we fix it? 52 00:02:53,700 --> 00:02:58,700 LISA DESJARDINS: As recently as yesterday, Mr. Trump sounded more confident, in a quick 53 00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:00,933 aside to Vice President Pence. 54 00:03:00,933 --> 00:03:03,600 DONALD TRUMP: We're getting it together. 55 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:05,600 And it's going to happen, right, Mike? 56 00:03:05,600 --> 00:03:07,333 MIKE PENCE, Vice President of the United States: Yes, sir. 57 00:03:07,333 --> 00:03:08,333 DONALD TRUMP: I think. 58 00:03:08,333 --> 00:03:10,400 (APPLAUSE) 59 00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:13,433 LISA DESJARDINS: Mr. Trump has repeatedly said he's willing to sign a repeal-only bill. 60 00:03:13,433 --> 00:03:17,933 The vice president, who spent much of the day on Capitol Hill, urged lawmakers to do 61 00:03:17,933 --> 00:03:19,166 something. 62 00:03:19,166 --> 00:03:21,633 MIKE PENCE: Inaction is not an option. 63 00:03:21,633 --> 00:03:23,833 Congress needs to step up. 64 00:03:23,833 --> 00:03:28,833 Congress needs to do their job, and Congress needs to do their job now. 65 00:03:31,300 --> 00:03:33,933 LISA DESJARDINS: House Speaker Paul Ryan sounded a similar note, and also said the House bill, 66 00:03:36,433 --> 00:03:39,000 which repeals and replaces Obamacare simultaneously, is still -- quote -- "the best way to go." 67 00:03:39,666 --> 00:03:41,733 REP. 68 00:03:41,733 --> 00:03:43,766 PAUL RYAN (R-WI), Speaker of the House: Well, we'd like to see the Senate move on something. 69 00:03:43,766 --> 00:03:46,333 LISA DESJARDINS: And House Budget Committee Chair Diane Black joined the chorus urging 70 00:03:46,333 --> 00:03:47,333 the Senate to act. 71 00:03:47,333 --> 00:03:49,400 REP. 72 00:03:49,400 --> 00:03:50,333 DIANE BLACK (R), Tennessee: We're going to be eternally optimistic that the Senate is 73 00:03:50,333 --> 00:03:52,433 going to get their work done. 74 00:03:52,433 --> 00:03:56,533 LISA DESJARDINS: Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of 11 governors called for the Senate to reject 75 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:00,666 efforts to repeal Obamacare now and replace it later. 76 00:04:00,666 --> 00:04:03,700 So, when we will see the next votes in the Senate? 77 00:04:03,700 --> 00:04:07,433 Senator John Cornyn, the number two Republican in the Senate, told my colleague Ellis Kim 78 00:04:07,433 --> 00:04:11,033 (ph) and some other reporters tonight he expects that vote this week -- Judy. 79 00:04:11,033 --> 00:04:14,100 JUDY WOODRUFF: And, Lisa, from what you're reporting, it doesn't sound like they have 80 00:04:14,100 --> 00:04:17,433 the votes to pass repeal, so what are they going to do after that? 81 00:04:17,433 --> 00:04:19,500 LISA DESJARDINS: Right, it's fascinating. 82 00:04:19,500 --> 00:04:23,533 They're frantic to take a vote now that likely will fail and looks it like, Judy, after that, 83 00:04:25,533 --> 00:04:28,400 they're ready for a 180-degree turn to move from this closed-door process they have had 84 00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:33,266 until now for the past seven months to a more open, public, kind of regular process that, 85 00:04:33,266 --> 00:04:36,100 as it's known here in the Senate, with committee hearings. 86 00:04:36,100 --> 00:04:40,533 Late tonight, the chairman of the Health Committee here in the Senate, Senator Alexander, announced 87 00:04:40,533 --> 00:04:45,133 he does plan to holding open hearings on health care and stabilizing the markets, regardless 88 00:04:45,133 --> 00:04:47,166 of the vote. 89 00:04:47,166 --> 00:04:49,466 And, Judy, it's worth noting those three senators who are the no votes, who are essentially 90 00:04:49,466 --> 00:04:54,466 blocking this latest effort from Mr. McConnell, they're are all senators who were not included 91 00:04:55,333 --> 00:04:57,333 in the closed-door meetings. 92 00:04:57,333 --> 00:05:00,366 Those female senators now saying they think it should have been open like this all along. 93 00:05:00,366 --> 00:05:04,833 JUDY WOODRUFF: So, Lisa, this is a big hit for the Republicans in the Senate and the 94 00:05:04,833 --> 00:05:06,066 Congress overall. 95 00:05:06,066 --> 00:05:07,066 What are they saying to you? 96 00:05:07,066 --> 00:05:08,333 How do they feel about this? 97 00:05:08,333 --> 00:05:10,233 LISA DESJARDINS: They're very raw, Judy. 98 00:05:10,233 --> 00:05:13,200 One of them told me that they're just exhausted. 99 00:05:13,200 --> 00:05:17,133 Another said today's meeting of all Republican senators was -- quote -- "robust." 100 00:05:17,133 --> 00:05:19,700 Translation of that, Judy, it was tense. 101 00:05:19,700 --> 00:05:22,966 There is some real fear about what this means for their elections next year. 102 00:05:22,966 --> 00:05:27,800 There are real questions about what it means to hold a vote that is likely to fail. 103 00:05:27,800 --> 00:05:29,033 Why are they doing that? 104 00:05:29,033 --> 00:05:31,066 Why does Mitch McConnell want to hold the vote? 105 00:05:31,066 --> 00:05:35,800 Well, the theory is that he wants to show who is to blame for blocking their repeal 106 00:05:37,733 --> 00:05:40,700 efforts and to say they gave it their best try, but that idea could, of course, ricochet 107 00:05:40,700 --> 00:05:42,733 and harm some of their senators as well. 108 00:05:42,733 --> 00:05:46,433 JUDY WOODRUFF: So, what about Majority Leader McConnell? 109 00:05:46,433 --> 00:05:49,033 Is his standing secure after all this? 110 00:05:49,033 --> 00:05:52,633 LISA DESJARDINS: Well, one senator, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, made an extraordinary statement 111 00:05:52,633 --> 00:05:57,033 today, saying he doesn't have confidence in Mitch McConnell anymore and doesn't trust 112 00:05:57,033 --> 00:05:58,033 his leadership. 113 00:05:58,033 --> 00:06:00,166 But, Judy, he was an exception. 114 00:06:00,166 --> 00:06:03,800 Other senators, including Lisa Murkowski, told me they do have confidence in him. 115 00:06:03,800 --> 00:06:05,866 She gave a great quote today, Judy, to us. 116 00:06:05,866 --> 00:06:10,233 She said that Mitch McConnell is trying to keep the frogs in the wheelbarrow and doing 117 00:06:10,233 --> 00:06:12,300 as well as he can. 118 00:06:12,300 --> 00:06:15,866 Fascinating, because she's one of the frogs that actually has jumped out of that wheelbarrow, 119 00:06:15,866 --> 00:06:20,500 but it looks like for now his leadership will stay and he will stay in power. 120 00:06:20,500 --> 00:06:23,100 JUDY WOODRUFF: I like the metaphor. 121 00:06:23,100 --> 00:06:26,233 Lisa, what does all this mean for health care? 122 00:06:26,233 --> 00:06:30,900 Because the Republicans have run several plans up the flagpole. 123 00:06:30,900 --> 00:06:32,966 They haven't passed. 124 00:06:32,966 --> 00:06:33,966 Where do they stand? 125 00:06:33,966 --> 00:06:34,966 Where do we stand? 126 00:06:34,966 --> 00:06:36,866 LISA DESJARDINS: That's right. 127 00:06:36,866 --> 00:06:38,300 This was the fifth draft, maybe the sixth draft, depending on how you count it this 128 00:06:38,300 --> 00:06:40,266 year. 129 00:06:40,266 --> 00:06:42,366 Let's just get to some bottom lines for what we're doling with now as Americans. 130 00:06:42,366 --> 00:06:47,233 It looks like now the effort to have massive Medicaid reform, large-scale cuts in the numbers 131 00:06:48,866 --> 00:06:51,900 of Medicaid recipients in the future, that effort now seems dead. 132 00:06:51,900 --> 00:06:56,900 However, the fate of the Medicaid expansion under Medicaid -- under the Obamacare, that 133 00:06:57,800 --> 00:06:59,066 is not clear. 134 00:06:59,066 --> 00:07:00,633 We will have to see what happens in negotiations. 135 00:07:00,633 --> 00:07:04,700 But, overall, Medicaid itself will largely stay as it is now. 136 00:07:04,700 --> 00:07:09,700 Also, the idea of repealing Obamacare wholesale, that seems unlikely to happen. 137 00:07:11,633 --> 00:07:14,733 We will see what happens in the next vote but it seems most likely, Judy, that Obamacare 138 00:07:14,733 --> 00:07:19,733 will stay largely within the framework it has now and that the discussion will shift 139 00:07:21,300 --> 00:07:23,733 to how to fix it and how to stabilize markets within that framework. 140 00:07:23,733 --> 00:07:27,833 JUDY WOODRUFF: And this -- you and I were talking earlier, this will have an effect 141 00:07:27,833 --> 00:07:31,133 on the larger Republican leadership agenda as well. 142 00:07:31,133 --> 00:07:33,233 LISA DESJARDINS: Oh, a huge effect. 143 00:07:33,233 --> 00:07:37,466 They're hoping that it will not be catastrophic, but now they are jammed up against some very, 144 00:07:39,200 --> 00:07:41,666 very limited time on the calendar, Judy. 145 00:07:41,666 --> 00:07:45,133 And they have some must-do things like passing spending bills, which, as we know, is never 146 00:07:45,133 --> 00:07:50,133 easy, but also a debt ceiling limit that must be raised some time in the next few months. 147 00:07:51,700 --> 00:07:53,933 And in addition to that, they are trying to still pursue tax reform. 148 00:07:53,933 --> 00:07:57,400 That is a once-in-a-generation kind of achievement. 149 00:07:57,400 --> 00:08:01,600 They're trying to do it in this very kind of caustic, sharp environment with health 150 00:08:01,600 --> 00:08:03,633 care still waiting. 151 00:08:03,633 --> 00:08:07,633 And it's unclear about what of that will happen or when it can all happen, but Republicans 152 00:08:07,633 --> 00:08:09,700 say they're still going to try. 153 00:08:09,700 --> 00:08:13,433 JUDY WOODRUFF: And in just a few seconds, Lisa, you were also telling us today the Republicans 154 00:08:13,433 --> 00:08:15,400 in the House rolled out their budget. 155 00:08:15,400 --> 00:08:17,500 LISA DESJARDINS: Yes. 156 00:08:17,500 --> 00:08:19,466 This is something not to be missed and would be a headline probably in most other weeks, 157 00:08:19,466 --> 00:08:21,400 but that's right. 158 00:08:21,400 --> 00:08:24,433 This Republican budget document is just a starting step in spending process, but it's 159 00:08:24,433 --> 00:08:27,066 important, Judy because they're doing something very new this year. 160 00:08:27,066 --> 00:08:32,066 They are proposing cutting not just discretionary subjects, which are your usual government 161 00:08:34,100 --> 00:08:37,266 agencies we talk about, education and so forth, but they want to cut mandatory programs as 162 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:39,466 well in their budget. 163 00:08:39,466 --> 00:08:41,500 Those are things like Social Security, Medicare, food stamps. 164 00:08:41,500 --> 00:08:46,033 They want to use those cuts in those mandatory programs to help things like the defense and 165 00:08:47,200 --> 00:08:48,400 also for tax cuts, so something to watch. 166 00:08:48,400 --> 00:08:50,733 JUDY WOODRUFF: It's a lot to watch. 167 00:08:50,733 --> 00:08:54,000 Lisa Desjardins, thank you for being our eyes and ears at the Capitol. 168 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:54,500 We thank you.