The low approval comes as the Senate is heading toward a possible vote on the legislation next week, and backers are still trying to rally support. Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington and Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee had held bipartisan hearings over the last month on how to stabilize Obamacare marketplaces and were making progress in their negotiations.
– The latest Republican effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act may very well be dead after Sen. John McCain announced his opposition to it Friday, the AP reports. "I cannot in good conscience vote for the Graham-Cassidy proposal," CNN quotes McCain as saying in a statement. "I believe we could do better working together, Republicans and Democrats, and have not yet really tried." This would be the second time McCain has put a nail in the coffin of Republican efforts to end ObamaCare. McCain said he couldn't vote for the Graham-Cassidy bill without a CBO score, which wouldn't be available until later this month, to let him know "how much it will cost, how it will affect insurance premiums, and how many people will be helped or hurt by it." Republicans could only afford to have two senators side with Democrats in opposition to the bill. Sen. Rand Paul was already opposed and Sen. Susan Collins was leaning that way. A recent poll found only 24% of Americans support the Graham-Cassidy bill and 50% disapprove of it, the Hill reports.