McCain: ‘Picking off an R or 2’ not real negotiation

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said that there are “no real bipartisan negotiations going on” concerning healthcare reform legislation currently being marked up in the Senate.

The Arizona Senator, who sits on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, responded to a question asked by ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos on Twitter.

Here is the dialogue:

@SenJohnMcCain. Hi Sen. G Steph…here Sen Grassley still trying bipartisan path. Can it succeed? How?

@GStephanopoulos We both know there are no real bipartisan negotiations going on — peeling off an R or 2 is not real negotiation

Stephanopoulos engaged in a similar exchange with Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) earlier today. He responded that there is no timetable for bringing the legislation to a vote, but declined to comment if bipartisan negotiations had slowed.

The HEP committee has taken the lead on the bill markup.