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Now what? Senate Republicans are scrambling to pick up the pieces after their attempt to repeal and replace the Obama-era health care law collapsed a second time. (7/18)

The Republican health care bill, at least for now, is dead. So what happens next? Senate Republicans have already announced plans to pivot to legislation that would repeal much of the Affordable Care Act without spelling out a replacement plan, after two additional GOP senators defected from the party’s controversial plan to simultaneously repeal and replace parts of the law. President Trump, too, tweeted his support for that approach. (Mershon and Facher, 7/18)

Republicans could soon find themselves in a situation they didn’t expect: shoring up rather than dismantling the Affordable Care Act. With the demise of the Senate Republican health push, a growing number of lawmakers and governors from both parties say the urgent next step is to bolster the ACA insurance exchanges, which have suffered from rising premiums and fleeing insurers. (Armour, 7/18)

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday blasted President Trump’s vow to “let Obamacare fail,” saying it shows a “lack of leadership” and could be politically perilous for Republicans in next year’s congressional elections. Speaking just hours after the dramatic collapse of GOP plans to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Schumer said Democrats remain willing to work with Republicans to shore up insurance markets and enact broader fixes to the current health-care law. But that didn’t stop him from tweaking Trump. (O'Keefe and Sullivan, 7/18)

The morning after Republican efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare seemed to die, two Ohioans summed up the lay of the land. One is U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, a Tea Party icon who has tried to get rid of the Affordable Care Act, or ACA, for years. Repeal it outright, and do it now, Jordan, from rural Champaign County, told CNN this morning. (Koff, 7/18)

For four successive congressional campaigns, Republicans have exploited frustrations about the Affordable Care Act with considerable electoral success, and the GOP won the White House last November with a gauzy promise by candidate Donald Trump to replace it with something "beautiful." But six months later, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pulled the repeal-and-replace bill from consideration late Monday in the face of certain defeat. (Page, 7/18)

Stunning as it is to witness the demise of the Republicans’ health reform effort, perhaps the most surprising piece is who played the role of executioner... In the end, it was brought down by two of the more reliably conservative voices in the Senate chamber — and just days after Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell accepted demands to move the bill dramatically right-ward. (Horowitz, 7/18)

The stunning collapse of ObamaCare repeal on Tuesday forced Republicans to confront a sobering reality: Their party and agenda are in a deep hole, and it’s not going to be easy to get out. Republicans have campaigned on repealing and replacing ObamaCare for the past seven years but find themselves unable to deliver on that promise despite having unified control of Congress and the White House. (Sullivan, 7/18)