--- title: John McCain: GOP Health Care Bill Will Fail description: Republican Senator John McCain said he fears the GOP Obamacare replacement bill will fail to pass the Senate as it faces opposition canonical: https://time.com/4850708/john-mccain-health-care-bill-senate/ author: Jennifer Calfas article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-07-09T18:09:58.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:54:13.235Z article:section: Politics og:title: John McCain Fears GOP Health Care Bill Is 'Going to Fail' og:description: At least five Republicans have said they would oppose the bill og:url: https://time.com/4850708/john-mccain-health-care-bill-senate/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc00e1bf19c94fe1f/6988a43bf887dc4961e973e0/john-mccain4.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Senator John McCain Makes Speaks At An African American Roundtable og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: John McCain Fears GOP Health Care Bill Is 'Going to Fail' twitter:description: At least five Republicans have said they would oppose the bill twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc00e1bf19c94fe1f/6988a43bf887dc4961e973e0/john-mccain4.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # John McCain Fears GOP Health Care Bill Is 'Going to Fail' ## Video: Mitch McConnell Defends Reworked Health Care Bill [Watch (HLS stream): Mitch McConnell Defends Reworked Health Care Bill](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/mjwoBdsO.m3u8) (1:41)  _Published 2017-07-13. In a high-stakes bid for conservative support, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has agreed to demands from Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas to allow insurers to sell low-cost, skimpier plans as part of a new health care bill._ by [Jennifer Calfas](https://time.com/author/jennifer-calfas/) ## Jennifer Calfas Jul 9, 2017 6:09 PM UTC  John McCain speaking during an African American veterans and business leaders roundtable event ahead of the U.S. Senate election in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S., on Aug. 12, 2016. John McCain speaking during an African American veterans and business leaders roundtable event ahead of the U.S. Senate election in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S., on Aug. 12, 2016.Patrick T. Fallon—Bloomberg/Getty Images by [Jennifer Calfas](https://time.com/author/jennifer-calfas/) ## Jennifer Calfas Jul 9, 2017 6:09 PM UTC Sen. [John McCain](http://time.com/4825959/john-mccain-healthcare-bill-mitch-mcconnell/) said the Republican health care bill aimed at repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act will likely fail as it faces oppositions from Democrats and some of his GOP colleagues. “My view is it’s probably going to be dead,” McCain said on [CBS’s _Face the Nation_ Sunday morning](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/transcript-senator-john-mccain-on-face-the-nation-july-9-2017/). “I fear that it’s going to fail,” McCain added. The Senate vote on the bill was delayed after its week-long, July 4 recess after [several Republicans](http://time.com/4834407/health-care-bill-senators-support-trump-obamacare/) said they would oppose it. The bill, a revised version of the Obamacare replacement plan approved by the House earlier this year, was released on June 22. On _Face the Nation_, McCain recommended his party should work with Democrats, who have formed a unified front against the bill. “And if you shut out the adversary or the opposite party, you’re going to end up the same way Obamacare did when they rammed it through with 60 votes,” McCain said. “Only guess what? We don’t have 60 votes.” On [NBC’s _Meet the Press_ on Sunday, ](http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/video/full-graham-interview-on-russia-trump-has-a-blind-spot-989021763602)Sen. Lindsey Graham, McCain’s Republican colleague, said he is unsure if Republicans will be able to come together. “Whether or not we can come together, I don’t know,” Graham said. “Mitch is trying. I would support the proposal before us, but you’ve got different camps in the Republican Party.” The current version of the bill includes big cuts to Medicaid and overhauls Obamacare’s tax credits, among other measures. A number of polls taken after the bill’s release show a dismal approval rate for the legislation. [According to a NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll](http://www.npr.org/2017/06/28/534612954/just-17-percent-of-americans-approve-of-republican-senate-health-care-bill), just 17% of those surveyed approved of the proposed health care plan. [On _Fox News_](http://www.foxnews.com/transcript/2017/07/09/reince-priebus-breaks-down-trumps-trip-to-g-20-summit.html) on Sunday, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said President Donald Trump expects Congress will pass a bill that will both repeal and replace Obamacare. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4850708/john-mccain-health-care-bill-senate/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4850708/john-mccain-health-care-bill-senate/"},"headline":"John McCain Fears GOP Health Care Bill Is 'Going to Fail'","datePublished":"2017-07-09T18:09:58.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:54:13.235Z","description":"At least five Republicans have said they would oppose the bill","url":"https://time.com/4850708/john-mccain-health-care-bill-senate/","keywords":["Congress","Health Care","John McCain","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc00e1bf19c94fe1f/6988a43bf887dc4961e973e0/john-mccain4.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jennifer Calfas","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/jennifer-calfas/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc00e1bf19c94fe1f/6988a43bf887dc4961e973e0/john-mccain4.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Senator John McCain Makes Speaks At An African American Roundtable","caption":"John McCain speaking during an African American veterans and business leaders roundtable event ahead of the U.S. Senate election in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S., on Aug. 12, 2016.","creditText":"Patrick T. 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