Sen. Jeff Merkley said Friday that there was an audible gasp from the Democrats when Sen. John McCain voted no on the “skinny” health care bill.
“We didn’t really believe that that was going to happen, and then it did,” Mr. Merkley, Oregon Democrat, said on CNN.
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer waved off Democrats on the Senate floor who appeared to start cheering when the bill was defeated, saying they were not celebrating since Obamacare still needed to be fixed. But Mr. Merkley did take to Twitter to call the vote a “victory.”
“I really wanted to make sure that grassroots America knew how important they were in this. They really set the stage,” he said. “It was just a grassroots moment that overwhelmed Capitol Hill.”
This victory is YOUR victory. It was YOUR fearless action, YOUR personal stories & YOUR rallies that helped us #KillTheBill #ProtectOurCare
— Senator Jeff Merkley (@SenJeffMerkley) July 28, 2017
• Sally Persons can be reached at spersons@washingtontimes.com.
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