McConnell Unveils Plan to Dismantle ObamaCare
By Sarah Ferris
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is planning to make ObamaCare a priority in his first weeks as leader of the Senate, vowing a sustained effort to dismantle the law piece-by-piece.
McConnell said the GOP will tackle unpopular aspects of the law such as the individual mandate, the medical device tax and the 30-hour workweek requiring employers to provide insurance.
“These are the kinds of things that I believe there is a bipartisan majority in the Senate to approve,” he said in the interview with Time magazine published Wednesday. The only other priority he listed was the Keystone XL pipeline.
The newly reelected senator isn’t giving up on full repeal, however.
“He does support full repeal and will continue to push for it,” McConnell spokesman Brian McGuire told The Hill.
But recognizing that a repeal bill would be rejected by the White House, McGuire said McConnell is looking to strike down pieces of the law “at the same time, on a dual track.”
Elsewhere in the Time interview, McConnell vowed to restore order in the Senate. To “get back to normal,” he said, senators might have to begin working occasionally on Fridays, something that has rarely happened under the Democratic majority.
“Some of it has to do with rebuilding relationships across the aisle and some of it has to do with just simply working harder,” he said.
He also promised no more government shutdowns, asserting that the Senate would pass a budget and appropriations bills on time.