Senate defeats ‘Skinny Repeal’ of Obamacare

After the vote Tuesday to move ahead to debate, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., introduced two possible amendments that would swap out the House text entirely and replace it with new language.

Whether the bill-technically known as the Better Care Reconciliation Act-will pass, or what it will look like when it does, remain unanswered questions.

On social media, many shared video of the dramatic moment McCain cast his instrumental vote and the overwhelming reaction from Senate members. Schumer eventually turned his attention to Trump’s tweets, starting with how the president responded to the health care defeat by saying Obamacare should be allowed to fail.

Earlier on Wednesday, a vote to simply repeal Obamacare failed to attract enough votes, with seven Republican senators voting against the measure.

Senate leadership had never intended “skinny repeal” to become law, but rather to serve as a vehicle with which to join forces with House Republicans and craft a broader repeal-and-replace plan.

King, who caucuses with Democrats and also opposed the Republican plan, was effusive about Collins when he talked to reporters after landing at the Portland International Jetport on Friday afternoon.

Nine Republicans voted against the bill, which would have made deep cuts to Medicaid, the health insurance programme for the poor, and reduced Obamacare subsidies to lower-income people to help them defray the cost of health insurance.

“I will not vote for the bill as it is today”, he said, emphasizing each word of the sentence. They were also the only two GOP senators to vote against the procedural vote Tuesday.

The text of the Health Care Freedom Act was not released until late-Thursday evening.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen said she was “very relieved that, for the time being, healthcare repeal has been set aside”.

“I feel much more confident that we’re going to stick the landing on tax reform because we have now said, ‘We have consensus, here’s the framework – let’s go get it done”, he said. In a speech after the vote, he asked “What are [Democrats’] ideas?” In his remarks Friday, McConnell said it will be “interesting to see what [Democrats] suggest is the way forward”.