GOP senator: ‘Everybody wants to get to yes’ on healthcare

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) said on Thursday that Republicans across the ideological spectrum are intent on approving a Senate GOP measure designed to overhaul the nation’s healthcare system.

Speaking on CNN’s “New Day,” Wicker hailed a luncheon at the White House on Wednesday as a success that helped unify Senate Republicans who have remained divided on GOP leaders’ healthcare reform legislation.

“We had a really good luncheon yesterday with almost all the Republican senators,” Wicker said on CNN’s “New Day.” “And I just saw a genuine determination on the part of ‘Sen. Right’ and maybe more ‘Sen. Left’ in the caucus to get to yes.”

{mosads}”I think everybody wants to get to yes, and if we have that determination and we can move the dials a little, I think we can get there,” he added.

Republicans delayed a vote on the bill after a number of Republicans said they were opposed to the current bill.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kent.) now hopes to reach a general deal by the end of this week that would allow him to get a new score from the Congressional Budget Office quickly after the July 4 recess.

McConnell can only afford two GOP defections on the bill in order to still get the 50 votes needed for it to pass, assuming Vice President Pence casts the tiebreaking vote.