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Aaron P. Bernstein | Reuters
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) speaks with reporters ahead of the party luncheons on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., September 26, 2017.
But Tuesday’s decision to table the bill is the latest in a series of embarrassments for Republican leaders who have repeatedly failed to convince enough members of their own party to support a repeal bill, which the GOP has long promised its voters would get passed.
President Donald Trump earlier Tuesday harshly criticized the trio of Republicans who opposed thecontroversial Graham-Cassidy bill.
“We don’t know why they did it,” Trump said of Collins, John McCain of Arizona and Kentucky’s Rand Paul.
“We are disappointed in certain so-called Republicans.”
Republicans hold 52 seats in the Senate. They needed 50 GOP senators to vote for the bill for it to pass, since no Democrat or independent would have voted for the legislation.
Collins’ decision to oppose the bill came minutes after the Congressional Budget Office, in a preliminary analysis, said that if Graham-Cassidy becomes law the number of people with health insurance that covers “high-cost medical events would be reduced by millions.”
