GOP Obamacare repeal stalled as three Republican senators defect

Three Republican senators said Tuesday they would oppose moving ahead

on a new GOP plan only aiming to repeal Obamacare, leaving Republicans

once again short of votes needed to carry on with their seven-year-old

drive.

Lisa Murkowski, Shelley Moore Capito and Susan Collins indicated

Tuesday that they would not vote to move forward a GOP repeal of the

Affordable Care Act, known as the Obamacare, to the Senate floor without

implementing an immediate replacement.

Their opposition came after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell

conceded failure in efforts to repeal and immediately replace the

Obamacare late Monday night as more Republican senators defected against

the revised Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA), a GOP bill designed

to overhaul the Obamacare.

But McConnell said the Senate will vote to take up the House-passed

bill in coming days while calling for a repeal vote on Obamacare with a

two-year delay for substitute.

"I regret that the effort to repeal and immediately replace the

failures of Obamacare will not be successful," McConnell said on the

Senate floor Tuesday. "That doesn't mean we should give up."

However, members of McConnell's caucus said a repeal-only bill would

not have their support, shortly after he made those remarks.

"My position on this issue is driven by its impact on West Virginians," Senator Capito said in a statement.

"With that in mind, I cannot vote to repeal Obamacare without a

replacement plan that addresses my concerns and the needs of West

Virginians," Capito said.

"To repeal there has to be a replacement," Senator Murkowski of

Alaska told reporters. "There's enough chaos already, and this would

just contribute to it."

Separately, Senator Collins of Maine said she was opposing the repeal

and delay proposal as it is not constructive to repeal a law closely

associated with the health care system but only plan to come up with a

replacement over the next two years.

Republicans control a 52-48 majority in the 100-seat Senate. Under

budget reconciliation rules, at least 50 votes are required to pass a

plan, with Vice President Mike Pence to break a tie.

With Senator John McCain of Arizona recovering at home from surgery,

two or more defections would stall any Republican proposal, were there a

unanimous opposition from Democrats and independents.

The Senate's Obamacare replacement plan, the BCRA, collapsed Monday

night when Collins and Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky were joined by

Senator Mike Lee of Utah and Jerry Moran of Kansas in opposing the

motion before McConnell shifted to advancing a repeal-only plan, stalled

almost immediately the next day.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday he was "very disappointed"

with the defeat in advancing the Republican health care plan, one of his

major campaign promises during the 2016 presidential elelction.

"Let Obamacare fail," he said. "We're not going to own it. I'm not

going to own it. I can tell you the Republicans are not going to own

it."

The GOP effort to repeal and replace the Obamacare has stalled mutiple times in past weeks.

Republicans are divided amid unsolved concerns of rising costs and

fewer insurers once the BCRA was enacted, while Democrats argue the GOP

bill would cost tens of millions of people's coverage.