McCain, a Republican known for his feisty independence, tweeted, ” . . . unfortunately for my sparring partners in Congress, I’ll be back soon, so stand-by!”
McConnell revealed little of his next steps but said Republicans were not giving up on their efforts to overhaul Obamacare.
“Dealing with this issue is what’s right for the country,” he said on the Senate floor on Thursday. “The fight to move beyond the status quo of Obamacare was certainly never going to be easy. But we’ve come a long way, and I look forward to continuing our work together to finally bring relief.”
The dramatic week at Congress and in the White House was taking its toll.
“I’m getting a little anxious,” Corker said.
Collins said that while it was unclear just what the Senate would be voting on, she was likely to oppose even the procedural motion to bring up either a repeal bill, or a repeal and replace bill.
“My intention, unless the bill is substantially changed, is to vote against the motion to proceed,” Collins said.
Democrats, who are united in their opposition to the Republican efforts and reveled in this week’s deadlock, told Republicans to abandon their healthcare efforts as they appeared no closer to reconciling policy differences after Wednesday’s meeting.
“It’s time for Congress to pivot away from the bills that are going nowhere,” said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.