Republicans brace for dissatisfied voters this summer

Sen. John Kennedy is expecting to get an earful when the freshman Republican returns to Louisiana for the August congressional recess and holds his regular live radio town hall with constituents.

Voters will be angry Congress failed to pass either tax reform or a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare, which were the two major agenda items they initially promised to complete by the summer break, he said.

Kennedy knows how he will respond to the frustrated callers.

"What I'm going to say to them is the truth, they are right," Kennedy said as senators fled the U.S. Capitol Thursday for the airport gates at nearby Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. "We are six months into this Congress. We failed on health care. We will eventually get it right, but I was very disappointed we couldn't pass a replacement for the Affordable Care Act."

Initial plans to pass a major tax overhaul by August were abandoned earlier this year, and lawmakers are now hoping it can get done before the first session of Congress ends on December 31.

The effort to repeal and replace Obamacare, which had an initial springtime deadline, fell apart during a late night Senate session last month when Republicans failed to win a simple majority within their own party to advance their measure.

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