GOP senator to Trump: 'I won't be bribed or bullied on Obamacare repeal vote'
A US GOP Senator has announced his displeasure against pressure to vote for the latest Senate plan aimed at repealing Obamacare, saying he "won't be bribed or bullied."
Kentucky Republican Rand Paul’s comments came following US President Donald Trump’s tweets claiming that if he failed to vote for the Graham-Cassidy bill, he would be recognized as the senator who “saved” the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
The plan described as the Graham-Cassidy bill is after the two Republican senators — Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana — who sponsored it.
"No one is more opposed to Obamacare than I am, and I've voted multiple times for repeal. The current bill isn't repeal," Paul said on Friday.
He further said that he "won't vote for Obamacare Lite that keeps 90% of the taxes & spending just so some people can claim credit for something that didn't happen."
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"Calling a bill that KEEPS most of Obamacare 'repeal' doesn't make it true. That's what the swamp does," Paul continued. "I won't be bribed or bullied."
On Thursday, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie also said that he is against the latest US Senate repeal bill, former Democratic President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law.
The Republican-drafted healthcare proposal would end Medicaid grants to states and it would have a disproportionate financial impact on states that chose to expand Medicaid under Obamacare.
Paul is the only GOP senator who is to vote against the Graham-Cassidy bill.
The Republican Party had failed to unite behind the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) despite having a 52-48 majority over Democrats in the 100-member Senate.
In July, the US Senate rejected the Republican-drafted healthcare legislation, dubbed the “skinny repeal” bill, dealing a major blow to GOP leadership and Trump, who had campaigned relentlessly on a pledge to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act approved under his predecessor in 2010.
Trump had promised during his election campaign, and later as president to introduce a new health system that benefits more Americans at a lower cost.
In the most contentious congressional vote of Trump's presidency in May, lawmakers voted 217 to 213 to pass the Obamacare repeal-and-replace bill.
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