Early Thursday, after voting down dozens of amendments from Democrats over seven hours, Senate Republicans approved a budget resolution measure officially beginning the process to repeal the Affordable Care Act, with no replacement yet proposed. The resolution, which passed on a partisan 51-48 vote — Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) joined all Democrats present in voting nay — instructs relevant committees to draft ObamaCare-repeal legislation by Jan. 27. The House plans to vote on the resolution Friday.
In his press conference on Wednesday, President-elect Donald Trump appeared to back the "repeal and replace" strategy being pushed by Paul rather than the "repeal and delay" tactic GOP leaders in Congress appear to be pursuing. The health care law can be replaced "essentially simultaneously" with its repeal, Trump said, "probably the same day" if not within the "same hour." He did not offer any policy ideas or lay out a timetable. The budget resolution maneuver allows Senate Republicans to excise large parts of the law with a simple majority, but any laws to replace ObamaCare will likely need at least 60 votes.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Temple Mount: the politics of Judaism's holiest siteThe Explainer Latest provocation at religious site with a history of 'perpetual friction' risks violence erupting again
-
Ssh! Secret gardens to visit this summerThe Week Recommends These leafy havens are the perfect place to escape the crowds
-
Codeword: August 5, 2025The Week's daily codeword puzzle
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B dealSpeed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance mergerSpeed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profitsSpeed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new highSpeed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliablespeed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutinySpeed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures
-
Starbucks baristas strike over dress codespeed read The new uniform 'puts the burden on baristas' to buy new clothes, said a Starbucks Workers United union delegate
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirementspeed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement
