WASHINGTON _ Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is facing mounting criticism from politicians and pundits on both sides of the aisle after the collapse of the Republican health care overhaul bill.
Before the bill was pulled Monday night, Sen. Ron Johnson told a local newspaper that McConnell's conflicting statements to different members of his caucus were a "significant breach of trust."
The Republican from Wisconsin was referring to a comment by McConnell to some Republican senators that Medicaid reform wouldn't happen under the overhaul bill.
Other Republican senators are calling for a new way forward on replacing the Affordable Care Act. Sen. Jerry Moran, whose decision to oppose the overhaul bill was one of the votes that killed it, criticized the "closed-door process" that McConnell used to draft the bill.
"We must now start fresh with an open legislative process," the Kansas Republican said in his statement Monday night.
Sen. John McCain, who is in Arizona recovering from surgery, said the Senate should "return to regular order" following the collapse of the bill. The Arizona Republican warned his colleagues not to repeat the mistakes of Democrats during the passage of the Affordable Care Act.
"One of the major problems with Obamacare was that it was written on a strict party-line basis and driven through Congress without a single Republican vote," McCain said. He added that Congress must now "hold hearings, receive input from members of both parties, and heed the recommendations of our nation's governors."
Conservative pundits took their swings at McConnell in more direct terms. Erick Erickson of The Resurgent suggested that it might be time for President Donald Trump to "send McConnell to the pasture."
"McConnell, again and again, stacks the deck against conservatives, setting them up to be the fall guy for his own failures," Erickson wrote Tuesday morning. McConnell repeatedly faced difficulty bridging the gap between the conservative and moderate factions of the GOP.
Amanda Carpenter, CNN contributor and former communications director for Sen. Ted Cruz, mocked McConnell on Twitter, saying he has accomplished "nothing at all," while maintaining a reputation as a "legislative mastermind."
Meanwhile Democrats in the House responded to President Donald Trump's claim that Democrats would join efforts to start from a clean slate. California Rep. Adam B. Schiff said Democrats would not "bail" Republicans out of their health care crisis.
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, however, had a different tone.
"The door to bipartisanship is open right now," Schumer said on the Senate floor. "Republicans only need to walk through it."
A former aide to retired Sen. Harry Reid slammed McConnell for his leadership style. Adam Jentleson, who was deputy chief of staff to the former majority leader tweeted a thread of comments Monday night suggesting that Republicans were launching a "coordinated rebellion" against the majority leader.
Jentleson, now a strategic adviser at the Center for American Progress, said this was the result of McConnell's "scorched-Earth tactics." Jentleson contrasted the leadership of his former boss with the current majority leader, saying Reid's status was "based on a mixture of love and respect," but McConnell's was "only on respect."
He added that Reid used "dramatic tactics" but also empowered senators and produced results. Jentleson said this is where McConnell has failed to strike a balance.
For all of his critics, McConnell has several allies on his side.
Vice President Mike Pence said he and President Donald Trump "fully support" McConnell's plan to focus on repealing the 2010 health care law first.
"Inaction is not an option," Pence added in a speech Tuesday morning. "Congress needs to step up. Congress needs to do their job, and Congress needs to do their job now."
House Speaker Paul D. Ryan said he'd like to see the Senate pass something, adding that House Republicans "are proud of the bill that we passed."
"The Senate's got to pass a bill for us to even move the process forward," Ryan said. "That's the next step. So, we're hoping that they can achieve that next step so that we can bring real relief."
The conservative Club for Growth applauded McConnell's plan to vote again on the 2015 repeal bill.
"While short of perfection _ the 2015 legislation leaves several Obamacare regulations in place _ it is the best option Republicans currently have to begin to repeal Obamacare," Club for Growth President David McIntosh said in a statement. "And this should be a slam dunk. After all, Senate Republicans already passed this legislation once."
