Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said in a statement on Friday that he will oppose the Graham-Cassidy Obamacare repeal bill. McCain’s vote against Graham-Cassidy effectively tanks renewed efforts to repeal Obamacare.
McCain said in a statement:
I cannot in good conscience vote for the Graham-Cassidy proposal. I believe we could do better working together, Republicans and Democrats, and have not yet really tried. Nor could I support it without knowing how much it will cost, how it will effect insurance premiums, and how many people will be helped or hurt by it. Without a full CBO score, which won’t be available by the end of the month, we won’t have reliable answers to any of those questions.
This is the second time McCain saved Obamacare from repeal in the Senate. He first tanked Obamacare in August when he and Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME) voted against the “skinny” Obamacare repeal bill. The measure failed by one vote.
McCain added that he takes no pleasure in derailing legislation sponsored by his friends Sens. Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy and hopes that Congress can strike a bipartisan deal on the future of health care.
McCain concluded his statement by saying, “I hope that in the months ahead, we can join with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to arrive at a compromise solution that is acceptable to most of us, and serves the interests of Americans as best we can.”