Congress approved on Thursday night an Obamacare repeal package that serves as a double-edged sword for Republicans: while a boon to conservative senators running for president, it could jeopardize some of their GOP colleagues running for reelection in swing states in 2016.

The Senate voted, 52 to 47, on Thursday night to repeal large portions of Obamacare and defund Planned Parenthood. The repeal was wrapped inside a budget reconciliation bill that needed a simple majority of 51 senators to make good on a longstanding promise to voters that a GOP-led Congress would eliminate large portions of Obamacare. But after months of pressure from conservatives, Senate leaders decided to add language to defund Planned Parenthood that not every Republican senator supports.

“The Republican caucus is united in its belief that Obamacare is flawed and needs to be fixed,” said moderate Maine Sen. Susan Collins (R). “By twinning it with a defunding of Planned Parenthood, you divide the caucus and muddy the message in my view.”

Read the article “Senate Passes Obamacare Repeal, Planned Parenthood Defunding Bill, Putting Republicans on the Record” on washingtonpost.com.