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The White House Wants The Senate To Try Again On Health Care

It seems like a lot of people are ready for Congress to move on from health care, but the White House isn't ready to give up yet.
Posted at 4:37 PM, Jul 30, 2017
and last updated 2017-07-30 16:37:53-04

After Senate Republicans failed to pass a partial Obamacare repeal Friday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said it was "time to move on."

And a new Reuters/Ipsos poll suggests most of the country agrees. Only 29 percent of respondents said they want Congress to continue working on a new health care bill.

But the White House doesn't seem ready to give up just yet.

Speaking on CNN's "State of the Union," Mick Mulvaney, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, told CNN it was the official White House view that the Senate shouldn't move on yet.

That echoes past statements by President Donald Trump. He told followers on Saturday to demand another vote before any more voting could happen.

And on Wednesday, he said Congress shouldn't leave town until it had a health care plan hammered out.

Though he's also contradicted that message. On several occasions, Trump has suggested he thinks lawmakers should allow Obamacare to fail, then circle back to a GOP health care plan.

The Senate might need to move on pretty soon, though. The Congressional Budget Office warned last month that the Treasury could run out of money sometime in October if the debt ceiling wasn't raised.