SC’s Graham looks ahead on health care, sees an ally in Trump

After his weeks-long nonstop effort to repeal and replace Obamacare – and after he conceded defeat – U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham settled in Tuesday night for a long, restful sleep.

“But guess who called and woke me up in the morning?” the S.C. Republican asked.

It was President Donald Trump, Graham’s one-time nemesis on the 2016 campaign trail who has become an unlikely ally and frequent caller to the senator’s cell phone.

“He said, `We’re gonna do this, we’re gonna get the votes,' ” Graham recalled in an exclusive interview with McClatchy. “He said, `We’re gonna do this next year for the good of the country, the good of the party.’

“He was really upbeat, and he sent out a nice tweet today.”

Graham said he will meet with Trump on Thursday at the White House “to plot a strategy to move forward.”

After weeks of saying his bill had momentum, it became clear Monday it lacked the 51 votes needed to move forward. While that should have meant a humiliating defeat, Graham has emerged emboldened and more confident than ever that the country hasn’t seen the last of his health care bill.

Graham as pitchman

The seeds of the idea were planted in a conversation at the Senate barber shop “a month or two” before the Senate took a series of doomed votes during late July on various proposals to repeal Obamacare.

Graham happened to be getting his haircut at the same time as former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., who had an idea: Why not distribute health care spending through block grants to the states? That’s what a Republican Congress did in the 1990s to overhaul the nation’s welfare system, ultimately winning the signature of Bill Clinton, a Democratic president.

Graham was intrigued.

A foreign policy and defense specialist, Graham never had worked seriously on health care before, though he had some history of supporting states’ rights in the arena.

Earlier this year, Graham was the third co-sponsor of legislation offered by GOP U.S. Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Susan Collins of Maine that was promoted as the “centrist” alternative to the current law. It didn’t have enough conservative sweeteners to win support in a fractious Republican caucus.

Graham approached Collins and Cassidy with Santorum’s idea. Collins did not join the effort, but Cassidy, a doctor in public hospitals before he became a member of Congress, came on board.

They agreed on a framework grounded in what Graham called “political tradeoffs.” While they would keep the current law’s taxes on the wealthy to pay for the block grants, they would repeal the financial penalties for individuals and employers who didn’t buy health insurance for themselves and their employees.

With Cassidy taking the lead on drafting the policy, Graham became the pitchman.

“He’s a pretty smart guy, and very wily, and as an attorney I’m sure he’s used to thinking about things that he may not be familiar with but are familiar to his case, and he brought all those gifts to bear,” Cassidy told McClatchy.

Many political observers consider the turning point for Graham-Cassidy to have come late this month, when the lawmakers officially unveiled the bill text.

But Graham said the moment where the political winds picked up for the block grant proposal was actually earlier, when U.S. Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., considered among the most endangered incumbents up for re-election in 2018, announced his support.

“Once we got Heller, then we were a real thing,” Graham said. “It was a turning point. Because Heller was a person in play. We didn’t know how he was gonna vote on health care. And then Heller went to (Senate Majority Leader Mitch) McConnell and said, `I like Graham-Cassidy. I can get behind this.’ ”

In other words, Heller showed Graham-Cassidy was worth the political risk.

“He said it was great politics,” Graham said of Heller. “He said, `I can tell Republicans I’m for federalism, tell average Nevadans we’re going to get more money for our state.’ “

‘Not enough to be against stuff’

Ultimately, the effort ended Tuesday, when it became clear there weren’t enough votes to pass the bill and GOP leaders announced overhauling the nation’s tax code would be the next legislative battle.

Graham still isn’t willing to quit, insisting — with the White House’s help — he, Cassidy and others will be able to get the proposal over the finish line sometime next year. He knows now how to attract wavering senators like Heller, and maybe there’s a way to win over Collins.

Health care will continue to consume some public attention in the weeks ahead, with Trump planning soon to sign a massive executive order that will allow individuals to buy health insurance across state lines.

Graham is convinced Obamacare is hurting the country, including South Carolina, where only one insurance provider exists on the state exchanges. “The truth of the matter is, the system is not working, and I feel a real need to up my game here.”

As Republicans work to keep their majorities on Capitol Hill in 2018, Graham thinks he knows what it will take.

“Here’s what this debate taught me: Democrats are very good at pushing their agenda,” Graham explained. “Republicans are national defense strong. We want an entrepreneurial economy. But, on health care, we’ve played defense. ...

“What this debate taught me is when it comes to the Republican Party, it’s not enough to be against stuff.”

This story was originally published September 27, 2017 at 6:52 PM with the headline "SC’s Graham looks ahead on health care, sees an ally in Trump."