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Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Obamacare repeal scenario: Name Manchin to Energy, replace him with a Republican senator

Republicans could get the 50th vote they need to pass an Obamacare repeal bill through a political shuffle by President Trump and West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice.

Here's the deal: Trump would name Energy Secretary Rick Perry secretary of homeland security, replacing Gen. John Kelly, who recently became Trump's chief of staff. Then Trump would name Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia energy secretary, and Justice would appoint a fellow Republican to fill Manchin's unexpired term.

"Some congressional Democrats think it's possible, even likely," reports Harris Meyer of Modern Healthcare. "If the 49 GOP senators who voted for [Mitch] McConnell's stripped-down repeal bill last month backed the new legislation, the McConnell wouldn't need the votes of the three Republicans—Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and John McCain—who voted no last time."

"Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) said Monday morning at a health-care town hall in Chicago that she and other Democrats expect Manchin will be offered the job and he will accept it," Meyer reports. "Then, they expect McConnell to quickly launch a new drive to pass a repeal-and-replace bill. That's what Trump has been needling McConnell to do since the previous bill failed by one vote on July 28, when McCain dramatically turned his thumb down."

There is also the possibility that McCain could resign from the Senate if his brain cancer progresses, Christopher Condeluci, a health-care lobbyist and former Senate Republican staffer, told Meyer. Arizona also has a Republican governor.

"Ron Pollack, chairman-emeritus of Families USA, who helped build grassroots support for ACA's passage in 2010, said he is skeptical about the Manchin replacement scenario, but he cautioned that ACA supporters should remain vigilant," Meyer reports. "Even if Republicans succeed in executing this personnel switcheroo, McConnell wouldn't necessarily have 50 votes he needs to pass either the so-called skinny repeal bill or a broader repeal-and-replace package."

Tom Miller, a conservative health policy analyst at the American Enterprise Institute, told Meyer, "The next hurdle is finding 50 real votes for skinny repeal when McCain isn't available to bail out up to a half-dozen or more Republican senators who voted for it very reluctantly last time."

The Hill notes, "Manchin was reportedly considered for the job after Trump's election in November." Manchin, who faces a potentially tough re-election battle in 2018, represents a state that has swung sharply Republican, largely because of troubles of its signature industry, coal, during the Obama administration.

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