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After Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) joined two Republican colleagues on 28 July 2017 in breaking party lines to vote against a so-called skinny repeal of the Affordable Care Act (colloquially known as Obamacare), a Reddit post that gained traction online credited him with derailing the GOP's efforts in a larger sense: However, the claim is incorrect. While McCain — as well as GOP colleagues Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Senate Democrats — voted against a skinny repeal amendment to the Republican-sponsored American Health Care Act, the congressional record shows that the bill itself has been returned to the Senate calendar. It is also unclear when the deadline would expire for a budget reconciliation bill. Sarah Binder, a senior fellow with the non-partisan Brookings Institution, said: However, others believe that a bill on the issue could be passed until 30 September 2017 (the end of the current fiscal year.) We contacted Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough's office, as well as the offices of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) seeking clarification, but have yet to receive a response. Graham is reportedly working with two GOP colleagues, Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana) and Dean Heller (R-Nevada) on a proposal that would require 50 — not 60 — votes to pass, thus paving the way for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. However, it is also unclear how much of a priority such a bill will be in the immediate future; Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) did not mention health care in a series of tweets on 1 August 2017 outlining a slate of legislative goals, and other GOP senators like Roy Blunt of Missouri have said that it's time to move on to something else. We also asked Graham's office for a response to McConnell's statement. He has yet to respond.
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