WASHINGTON — House Republicans indicated Wednesday that they would leave Washington this week without passing their stalled health-care bill, spurning a spirited White House effort to revive the legislation amid a fresh round of intraparty finger-pointing.
Three top Republican leaders each dialed back expectations for action before a two-week recess begins Thursday, after a late-night meeting of holdout factions led by Vice President Mike Pence Tuesday failed to produce a breakthrough.
“We can keep working this for weeks now,” Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said at a Wednesday morning event, emphasizing there was “no artificial deadline” for action.
“Getting this done by tomorrow? I think that’s tough,” said House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., a view that was echoed by Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., who said it was “very unlikely.”
A continuation of the Tuesday-night meeting was not expected Wednesday as originally planned, foreclosing any chance that the GOP’s American Health Care Act might be resurrected before the Easter recess begins.
However, late Wednesday, Ryan was asked to the White House to meet with Vice President Pence, with health care among the topics, according to House GOP aides.
The impasse reflects the ongoing inability of the GOP’s moderate and hard-right wings to reach a compromise on just how much of the Affordable Care Act, signed into law eight years ago by then-president Barack Obama, ought to be undone. The conflict has persisted despite the sky-high political stakes for congressional Republicans who have long promised to repeal the law.
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