Though GOP lawmakers have dreamed of repealing the Affordable Care Act since the day it became law in 2010, it looks like they’re giving up on that dream – at least for 2018.
At a Republican congressional retreat in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, lawmakers said they don’t think another repeal effort is in the cards this year, given the many difficulties they faced last year, according to Politico.
“It would be a heavy lift. I think everybody knows. We sort of tested the limits of what we can do in the Senate last year. And we’re one vote down from where we were then,” said Sen. John Thune (R-SD).
Hardliner Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) agreed, though he left open the possibility that the picture could change after the fall election. “If we keep the majority in the House and they get a larger majority in the Senate then you might look at a reconciliation vehicle after November,” Meadows said, referring to the legislative vehicle Republicans could use to give Obamacare repeal one more try.
