Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he will not overrule the chamber's parliamentarian's rulings on Medicaid funding, with the savings having been seen as key to tax cuts in the GOP's pending megabill.
"That would not be a good outcome for getting a bill done," the South Dakota Republican told members of the press at the Capitol Thursday, reported The Hill. "These are … short-term setbacks. Speed bumps, if you will. We're focused on the goal."
Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough rejected a plan to cap the ability of states to collect more federal Medicaid funding through provider taxes for healthcare providers.
The provision would have allowed the collection of billions of dollars in savings, but Thune said Senate Republican leaders knew that there would be an "interesting conversation" with McDonough about the measure.
However, Thune said, members can take other actions to find similar savings.
"We were obviously trying to get as much in terms of savings as we could," said Thune. "We pushed hard to try and achieve that ... there are things that we can do. There are other ways of getting to that same outcome."
However, a source commented that Republicans will try reworking the provisions to keep them in the megabill.
Thune, meanwhile, sidestepped questions about his plans earlier this week to hold a vote Friday, kicking off consideration of the massive legislation.
"We'll see how it all lands," he said, pointing to the continuing discussions with the parliamentarian and other issues.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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