House Republicans painstakingly crafted a reconciliation bill that could hold different factions of the GOP conference together, delicately balancing the demands of conservatives with vulnerable Republicans from blue states. The Senate is about to disregard all of that.
Despite those months of careful negotiations in the House, Republicans in the upper chamber are already signaling they will rewrite large components of the bill, sending a new package back to the House for more debate and another uphill climb toward passage.
Sen. Ted Cruz said he expects “considerable changes in the Senate.” Or, as Sen. Thom Tillis put it, “It’s a good start, but we have work to do.”