Cruz still a no on ObamaCare repeal bill

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is still opposed to the latest ObamaCare repeal legislation despite the changes that have been made to the bill, according to a Cruz aide.

Cruz’s position further endangers the Republican ObamaCare repeal effort, which appears to be on the brink of failure.

The Texan is the third senator to publicly oppose the bill, sponsored by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.). Senate Republicans can only lose two votes and still pass the bill; Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) are already opposed.

Cruz on Sunday said he wants to get to “yes,” but is not there yet.

“Right now they don’t have my vote, and I don’t think they have [Sen.] Mike Lee‘s [R-Utah] either,” Cruz said.

On Monday, senior Cruz aides said the senator’s position hasn’t changed.

Cruz wants to get to “yes,” but is not there yet, they said.

The bill “needs to lower costs for consumers, and we are going to keep pushing for that.” 

According to aides, Cruz is interested in making changes to how insurers comply with “Title One” of ObamaCare, similar to an amendment he introduced to the repeal bill over the summer.

However, Cassidy on Monday said the the most recent version of the bill is the final one, aside from corrections to drafting errors.

The updated version of the repeal bill, released publicly Monday morning, includes more conservative regulatory policies designed to win over key holdouts.

Both Cruz and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) have sounded optimistic about the Cassidy-Graham legislation, but have held back their full support.