Senate Republicans have been given approval by the Senate Parliamentarian to use reconciliation to repeal Obamacare and defund Planned Parenthood, but some members of the GOP caucus are no longer certain that repealing Obamacare is a good idea.
“I am very concerned about the 160,000 people who had Medicaid expansion in my state. I have difficulty with that being included,” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican from West Virginia. [...]
Sen. John Hoeven (R), who represents North Dakota, where an estimated 19,000 people gained access to Medicaid after Republican Gov. Jack Dalrymple decided to broaden the program, said he was unsure about repealing the expansion. [...]
“I respect the decision of our legislator and our governor on Medicaid expansion,” said Sen. Steve Daines (R) of Montana, which has a Democratic governor. “I’m one who respects their rights and voices.”
The list of Republican doubters continues but, suffice to say, not every Republican in Congress supports a full repeal of Obamacare at this point in time.
We knew this moment would come sooner or later, but this is admittedly much sooner than I would have predicted.
This is a major political problem for the Republican party because they've been railing against the law since its inception and most of the Republican presidential field of candidates are running against it. If Senate Republicans, and more specifically Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), do not follow through on their promises, the GOP candidates will be free to sharpen their rhetoric against Congress.
Given that GOP primary voters aren't going to nominate John Kasich, they will almost certainly nominate a candidate running on a full repeal of Obamacare.