Trump just wants 'something' to happen with the health-care bill. He might be disappointed.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 18 July 2017

President Trump was "blindsided" by the defection of Sens. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) from the GOP health-care bill on Monday, a move that effectively killed the "replace" part of repeal and replace for now, Politico reports. But even as Trump has privately warned "we're in trouble" if Republicans don't offer up a health-care solution, even the leadership's last-ditch efforts look grim.

As it stands, Trump might be in for more surprises. Although Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has vowed to repeal ObamaCare with a two-year window to come up with a replacement, many experts don't see the move as having much of a chance. "This is leadership saying: 'If you're not going to come around on a 'replace' bill, [forget] you,'" explained Axios' Jonathan Swan. "'We'll do repeal without replace — which you voted for before, when Obama was president, and you knew it wouldn't take effect. What was that, a fake vote?'"

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

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