McConnell Says Obamacare Repeal High on Agenda

Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said repealing the Obamacare health insurance system is a "pretty high item on our agenda" for the new Congress that was elected on Tuesday, calling it the "single worst piece of legislation" from the first two years of the Obama administration.

McConnell told reporters he would like to see bipartisan comprehensive tax reform, and that border security should also be high on the to-do list. He expects president-elect Donald Trump to send the Senate a Supreme Court nominee soon, and to review environmental regulations put in place by Obama, including on coal.

“It’s pretty high on our agenda, as you know,” McConnell told reporters at a Wednesday press conference. “I would be shocked if we didn’t move forward and keep our commitment to the American people.”

But he declined to say whether Senate Republicans would use a special process known as budgetary reconciliation to kill the law on a straight party-line vote.

Republicans have used reconciliation previously to get around the Senate's filibuster and approve Obamacare reform.

McConnell also said overhauling the tax code and ramping up security along the U.S.-Mexico border are top priorities for the new Congress.