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When it comes to managing Republicans’ best interests, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, rarely loses. So it is possible that Mr. McConnell views the potential failure of a hastily written health care bill as an eventual boon. ... Mr. McConnell plays his strategic cards so close to the vest that a queen of hearts must be tattooed on his tie. (Steinhauer, 6/22)

The shrewd Kentuckian has made himself practically the sole arbiter of the bill and will be largely responsible for the outcome, whether it's a win, a loss, or a win that turns into a loss over time as unpopular consequences of the legislation take hold. McConnell decided to keep the bill close, writing it in secret with a close circle of aides and eschewing committee hearings, despite grumbling from fellow Republicans. GOP senators were largely in the dark until the legislation was unveiled Thursday and were still getting briefed, without seeing copies of the bill, when it was posted publicly online. (Werner, 6/23)

McConnell’s strategy has been a slow burn, allowing his members to vent in private party discussions while gradually writing a bill that takes in their considerations over the past six weeks. He’s had more than 30 meetings with his members about taking down the 2010 health law, intended to give his members more input and get them comfortable with the product. Johnson, for example, doesn’t even serve on the two committees that oversee health care policy, so the process has empowered him more than he might have been through regular order. People close to McConnell believe Lee’s staff has been read in more than any other member on the chamber’s complicated parliamentary procedures that constrain what is possible under reconciliation. (Everett, 6/22)

Dozens of people protested the newly proposed Republican health-care legislation outside the Capitol Hill office of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Thursday — a demonstration that resulted in the arrest of 43 disability advocates. U.S. Capitol Police spokeswoman Eva Malecki said officers warned the demonstrators to “cease their unlawful activities” or risk being arrested. Those who did not comply were arrested and charged with crowding and obstructing. (Stein, 6/22)

U.S. Capitol Police officers removed several people protesting Thursday morning in front of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) office, shortly after the Senate GOP released its ObamaCare repeal bill. The protesters, some of them in wheelchairs, had planned to stage a "die-in" protest to oppose the bill. Tweets from the scene show Capitol Police officers blocking the hallway outside McConnell's office, as protesters gathered to protest the new healthcare bill. Another tweet shows police carrying a protester who refused to leave on her own. (Delk, 6/22)