Republican leaders, who have stymied Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe's efforts at expanding Medicaid eligibility since he took office in January, said they are holding a special session to discuss Medicaid expansion because they promised they would. "If Republican leadership is determined to double-down on blocking expansion, why call lawmakers back for nothing more than a Medicaid charade?" Democratic Party Chairman Dwight Jones said in a statement. [...] most Republican lawmakers opposed expansion, saying they don't believe the federal government will be able to keep its promise to pay and the state can't afford a large scale increase of an entitlement program. [...] the governor has said he's not given up on expanding Medicaid and urged lawmakers to pass a modified expansion plan proposed by Republican Del.