Sen. John McCain: Senate Health Care Bill 'Is Probably Going To Be Dead'

"I fear that it’s going to fail.”
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Arizona Senator John McCain (R) appeared on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” Sunday morning and said he thought the Senate’s health care bill was “probably going to be dead” when Congress returns Monday from the July Fourth recess.

After the senator said that Republicans did not have the votes necessary to pass the body’s health care proposal, which would gut Medicaid and result in 22 million more uninsured people over the next decade, host John Dickerson asked about next steps.

“My view is that it’s probably going to be dead,” McCain said. “But I’ve been wrong. I thought I’d be president of the United States. But I fear that it’s going to fail.”

McCain then proposed introducing a bill and working with Democrats.

“It doesn’t mean they control it,” McCain said of the Democrats. “It means they can have amendments considered. And even when they lose, then they’re part of the process. That’s what democracy is supposed to be all about.”

On Sunday, President Donald Trump tweeted that Republicans have been promising voters they’d repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act for years.

But Republicans in Congress have not been able to agree on legislation, even as leadership in the House and Senate attempted to rush votes on bills that divided the GOP.

Late last month, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell postponed the Senate’s health care vote until after the July Fourth recess. While Congress was on break, Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), who was a member of the working committee tasked with drafting the senate’s proposal, held a town hall and tried to explain the delay to his constituents.

“I didn’t expect Donald Trump to win,” Toomey said. “I think most of my colleagues didn’t. So we didn’t expect to be in this situation.”

See the full clip below:

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