GOP senator: I would have preferred ‘better’ process on ObamaCare repeal

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) told CNN on Friday that he can’t defend the way GOP senators crafted the healthcare reform bill in secret but said he still thinks the bill could be acceptable to vote for.

Cassidy was pressed on whether he thought the “process” for crafting the healthcare legislation that would affect millions of Americans was transparent.

“Is this a way to run a rodeo?” CNN’s David Gregory asked Cassidy.

“I don’t defend the process,” Cassidy responded. “I would have preferred it better.”

But Cassidy says the real power players in the Senate now are Democrats. He suggested that just two Senate Democrats working together could have “incredible leverage” over Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and the Republicans.

“If two Democrats walked into Mitch McConnell’s door right now and said ‘we’re here to deal,’ they would have incredible leverage,” Cassidy told CNN.

{mosads}When pressed that Republicans could have done the same during the original drafting of the Affordable Care Act, Cassidy disagreed.

“I disagree, because they had 60 votes. They did not need a Republican,” Cassidy said. “And that was probably the weakness with ObamaCare.”

“That said,” Cassidy added, “Two Democrats walk in Mitch McConnell’s door right now, they bargain.”

He says he has not yet made up his mind on whether to vote for the bill but offered praise for what he’s seen so far.

“The good things I can say about this bill, have not finished reviewing, have not decided to vote for, but good things, it lowers premiums immediately,” Cassidy.

“It does appear that if your loved one has a catastrophic illness, that the care will be there, that resources, if you will, for that child,” Cassidy continued. “And that’s also a good thing.”