McConnell: ‘Time to move on’ after healthcare defeat

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said “it is time to move on” in a floor speech early Friday after the stunning defeat of the GOP’s scaled-down plan to repeal key parts of ObamaCare.

McConnell was visibly emotional during brief remarks on the floor after falling short of his promise to repeal ObamaCare after three GOP senators voted against the “skinny” repeal bill.

McConnell called GOP efforts to repeal ObamaCare “the right thing for the country,” despite their final efforts to push for repeal being unsuccessful. 

“This is clearly a disappointing moment,” he said.

{mosads}

“I regret that our efforts were simply not enough this time. Now, I imagine many of our colleagues on the other side are celebrating. Probably pretty happy about all this. But the American people are hurting, and they need relief.”

The GOP leader pointed to Democrats, saying, “Now I think it’s appropriate to ask, what are their ideas? It’ll be interesting to see what they suggest as the way forward.”

“We’ll see how the American people feel about their ideas,” he said.