US President says he
'learned a lot about loyalty' in the process of the bill failure
Mythili Sampathkumar
Donald Trump's flagship
healthcare bill has been killed off after failing to secure enough support from
Republicans, in a major embarrassment for the US President during his first
attempt at passing legislation through the House.
The decision, made just minutes
before the vote was due to take place, will be viewed as a significant set back
for Mr Trump, who has promised to repeal and replace Obamacare.
Republican House Speaker
Paul Ryan told Mr Trump just ahead of the scheduled Friday vote that there were
too many dissenting Republicans to pass the American Health Care Act. The White
House could only afford to have 22 Republicans vote 'no' on the bill.
“We came very close,” Mr Ryan said in a press
conference.
He said the failure to
reach the required 216 votes to pass the bill was a result of “moving from an
opposition party to a governing party - you have growing pains".
“The president gave his all
in this effort...he’s really been fantastic,” said Mr Ryan.
In a hastily arranged news
conference, Mr Trump said "we learned about loyalty" in the process
of the bill's failure to garner enough votes, but was clear to place blame on
Democrats.
Saying the bill had no
votes from the opposition, Mr Trump said "I think the real losers are
[Democratic Minority Leader] Nancy Pelosi and [Senator] Chuck Schumer...they
own Obamacare."
Mr Trump continued his
rhetoric that Obamacare is a "mess" solely created by Democrats.
However he also said
"when [Obamacare] explodes - which it will soon - what would be good is if
they work with us" to get a better, bipartisan health care bill.
"I worked as a team
player" and "learned a lot...about arcane rules in the Senate and the
House," Mr Trump said, likely referring to the Senate's Byrd Rule.
It kicked in because
Republicans used a method - called the "reconciliation process" - to
try and pass a bill that prevented Democrats from filibustering the bill.
However, it also limited
the concessions the White House could make to dissenting Republicans known as
the Freedom Caucus. The bill would have gone to the Senate once it passed the
House.
Vice President Mike Pence
and Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney joined Mr Trump in
aggressive lobbying for votes on the bill with members of the dissenting
Republican faction
Despite several concessions
and promises being made, Freedom Caucus members still had major concerns about
provisions such as the "essential health benefits"; a list of
required items that insurance companies must cover for each person under
Obamacare regulations.
A dejected Mr Ryan said
“this is a setback, no two ways about it” and described the Republican
conference as “let down.”
Mr Ryan said he does not
blame anyone, but did say it “all comes down to a choice...Are all of us
willing to give a little to get something done?”
House Democratic Minority
Leader Nancy Pelosi said in a press conference “what happened on the floor
today...is a great day, it's a victory...for the disabled, for senior
citizens.”
Mr Trump said he was
"disappointed and a little bit surprised." Next up for the White
House is pursuing tax reform "very strongly", he added.
The bill will also come as
a blow to many on Capitol Hill. Several Congressional Republicans ran and won
on platforms featuring the repeal and replacement of Obamacare.
Mr Trump had promised
hundreds of times during his presidential campaign to break through “gridlock”
in Washington DC bureaucracy and repeal and replace the “disaster” of
Obamacare, but added today: "I never said I would repeal and replace in 64
days."
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-healthcare-bill-postponed-obamacare-republican-leaders-a7649201.html
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