Rank-and-file Republicans convinced Senate Majority Leader John Thune to hold a vote on a new health savings account plan from Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, alongside Democrats’ three-year extension of expiring Obamacare subsidies.
But both votes will fail on Thursday and leave the Senate no closer to a solution that can pass.
“The bottom line is, we are the government. We need to come up with a solution,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who favors a three-year extension that reduces subsidies over time.
Sens. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, and Roger Marshall, R-Kan., entered the mix with their own plans, too, leaving the Senate with at least five GOP health care plans and nothing yet that can pass.
Will there actually be dealmaking after the failed votes? “If neither proposal gets 60, then we’ll see where it goes from there,” Thune said.