VOTE DELAYED ON REPLACING AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE ACT
Republican leadership decided to pull their Obamacare replacement bill mid this afternoon at the request of President Donald Trump.
After House GOP leaders postponed a vote this afternoon when it was clear they lacked the votes to ensure the bill’s passage, the White House delivered a late-night ultimatum: Vote today or the president is prepared to move on to other business.
The president has “left everything on the field when it comes to this bill,” White House press secretary Sean Spicer said today at an afternoon press briefing, adding that House Speaker Paul Ryan “has done everything he can” to collect votes but “at the end of the day, you can’t force people to vote.”
Spicer said the GOP leadership and the White House continue to pick up “yes” votes, but it remains unclear whether they will be able to persuade enough of their party’s lawmakers to vote for the bill this afternoon.
White House budget director Mick Mulvaney had earlier told Republican legislators if the House doesn’t act today, the president is prepared to leave the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, in place.