David Axelrod on Friday said, "There may be Republican senators breathing sighs of relief" after Sen. John McCain announced he will not support the chamber's latest healthcare bill, Graham-Cassidy.
McCain's announcement essentially kills the bill; he and Sen. Rand Paul are against it, meaning Republicans need every other member to vote for it, forcing a tiebreaker vote by Vice President Mike Pence, or they need Democratic support.
"There may be Republican senators breathing sighs of relief, including Sen. (Lisa) Murkowski" of Alaska, Axelrod said on CNN shortly after McCain's announcement.
"I think there is an element of McCain taking other people off the hook because … he has a very tough diagnosis, it's not likely that he's going be running for re-election again," said Axelrod, a CNN contributor.
"He seems very focused on doing what he thinks is right, but also by doing what he is doing, he is making it easier for other senators to vote the way they want to vote, knowing what the outcome is likely to be," Axelrod said.
Murkowski has been at the center of speculation, given her state of Alaska would be hit hard by Graham-Cassidy. She has yet to announce her decision.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, on the other hand, has all but said she will not support the measure, which would sink the bill, unless Democrats were to come on board.
Gov. John Kasich, a Republican, opposed Graham-Cassidy and gave a shoutout to McCain on Twitter.
Other conservatives, however, were not pleased:
MSNBC morning TV show host Joe Scarborough was ebullient.
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