Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Mitch McConnell And His No Good, Very Bad Day
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell lost just about every way possible on Tuesday. The Kentucky Republican had to abandon, again, an effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act amid an uprising from the more moderate wing of the GOP caucus. Then he learned that one of his most influential Republican chairman would not run for reelection next year, setting up a potentially divisive race to succeed the senator. (Kane, 9/26)
For Mitch McConnell, Tuesday was about as bad as it could get. A vulnerable incumbent senator, Luther Strange, lost handily to Roy Moore, who used the Senate leader as his campaign punching bag. McConnell pulled the plug 鈥 again 鈥 on repealing Obamacare. One of his close allies, Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), announced his retirement. And President Donald Trump is back on McConnell鈥檚 case, dubbing him 鈥渨eak鈥 at a private dinner with conservative activists on Monday evening. (Bresnahan, Everett and Dawsey, 9/27)