GOP senator: I ‘can’t imagine’ voting yes on health bill in a week

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) on Wednesday cast doubt on whether he would vote for the Republican ObamaCare repeal bill next week, pointing to the short timeframe to review the bill. 

“What I’ve told leadership very clearly is I’m going to need time, and my constituents are going to need time to evaluate exactly how this is going to affect them, so I personally think that holding a vote on this next week would definitely be rushed,” Johnson said on CNN. “I can’t imagine, quite honestly, that I’d have the information to evaluate and justify a yes vote within just a week.” 

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) plans to unveil a discussion draft of a bill on Thursday and then hold a vote next week. A range of GOP senators have said they would have liked a more open process with more time to review the bill. 

{mosads}Johnson is one of the first to say that he might actually vote against the bill because of a lack of time to review it. 

“I’ve told [McConnell], unless I have the input from my constituents, unless I have got the information I need to justify a yes vote, I won’t be voting yes,” Johnson said. 

 “What I want to do is I want to fully vet it in the public,” he added. “I want to make sure that my constituents have enough time to provide input.”

Johnson has questioned the strategy of pushing for a Republican-only bill and says that he thinks lawmakers should first act on a narrower measure aimed at stabilizing insurance markets.