TIME

RIP, repeal and replace? The GOP faces a new crossroads

McConnell’s failure on health care increases the trouble ahead for the Republican agenda

EVEN THE SHREWDEST TACTICIANS sometimes misplay their hand. Mitch McConnell’s error came to light in mid-July, when the Senate majority leader, having vowed to deliver on the Republican promise to repeal the Affordable Care Act, found himself abandoned by his own team. With only two votes to spare, the Senate master gambled that he could force through a bill, written in private by only male Senators, that was widely disliked by voters.

In the end McConnell was blind-sided. The third and fourth defections, from Senators Mike Lee of Utah and Jerry Moran of

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