GOP leaders push back at critics of ObamaCare plan

Senate Republican leaders are pushing back against the idea proposed by some in their caucus of passing an ObamaCare replacement at the same time that they repeal the law.

Sen. John Cornyn (Texas), the Senate’s No. 2 Republican, indicated to reporters Monday that simultaneous repeal and replacement is not practical.

“I think we would all like that to be the case but, like I said, it’s more aspirational,” Cornyn said of doing a replacement at the same time as repeal. “I think the practical challenges are many and so we’re doing the best we can given the hand we’ve been dealt.”

{mosads}He noted that fast-track reconciliation rules would not allow a full replacement to be included.

“I think we’re better off doing it correctly and carefully rather than just quickly for quickly’s sake,” Cornyn added of a replacement, saying he wants replacement to be a step-by-step, bipartisan process.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has been the most vocal Republican arguing that the GOP must repeal and replace ObamaCare on the same day. Paul said that he has spoken with President-elect Donald Trump and Trump supports simultaneous replacement as well.

But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), like Cornyn, pushed back on the idea of simultaneous repeal and replacement.

“I haven’t heard Senator Paul’s plan to replace it,” McConnell said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday. “But we will be replacing it rapidly after repealing it.”

Asked to be more specific about what “rapidly” meant, McConnell did not give a timeframe.

Cornyn did suggest Monday, though, that some elements of a replacement plan could be included in a repeal bill.

“I hope so, we’re actually looking to try to find some way to do that,” Cornyn said. He declined to say which elements could be included.

Several Republican senators in addition to Paul, including Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) have said they think it would reduce uncertainty to show the public what the Republican replacement is before voting to repeal the law.

Democrats have hammered Republicans on the issue, stating that the GOP is essentially hiding the details of their plan until after they vote to repeal ObamaCare.

Republican leaders won’t commit, for example, that their plan will cover at least as many people as ObamaCare.

While Paul has said he will vote against the budget resolution, the first step to set up ObamaCare repeal, because of debt concerns, Cornyn said he is not worried about not having enough Republican votes on the budget.

“I think we’re in good shape,” he said.