healthcare legislation and support it in a vote on Friday.
It was not
clear late on Thursday evening that Trump and the Republican leaders who
crafted the bill had enough support to pass it, meaning they now risk defeat in
their first attempt at major legislation and may fail to deliver on a key
campaign pledge.
"We have
been promising the American people that we will repeal and replace this broken
law because it’s collapsing and it’s failing families, and tomorrow we’re
proceeding," House Speaker Paul Ryan told reporters after an evening
all-hands meeting. He ignored reporters who asked if he had secured the votes
to pass the bill.
Ryan and
leaders in the House of Representatives were forced to postpone a vote on their
healthcare bill, formally called the American Health Care Act, earlier on
Thursday, dealing Trump an embarrassing setback.
The vote had
been symbolically planned for the anniversary of former Democratic President
Barack Obama signing his namesake healthcare law, the Affordable Care Act, in
2010. It was supposed to have been Trump's first legislative victory.
Trump and his
fellow Republicans had pledged to replace Obamacare, which they view as too
intrusive and too expensive.
But, after a
week of calling Republican lawmakers and bringing them into the Oval Office for
meetings, Trump failed to close the deal with two different factions within his
party on time for the planned Thursday vote.
Conservatives
felt the bill did not go far enough to repeal Obamacare and moderates felt the
plan could hurt their constituents. House Republican leaders had signaled they
were ready to work through the weekend to figure out a way to reconcile their
differences.
As the
healthcare drama unfolded on Capitol Hill, Trump played it cool, taking a break
from negotiations to hang out with some truckers, climbing into the cab of a
long-haul transport truck parked on the back driveway of the White House, and
blowing the horn a few times.
He told reporters
the vote would be close but he remained optimistic. "I think we’re doing
well. We’ll find out in about three hours," he said, just as reports began
to surface that the vote had been postponed.
By evening,
Trump sent his top lieutenants to a dramatic meeting on Capitol Hill on
Thursday night with an ultimatum: he was done talking. According to
Representative Chris Collins of New York, a top Trump ally, White House budget
director Mick Mulvaney told House Republicans that Trump wanted a vote.
"The president
has said he wants a vote tomorrow, up or down," Collins said
REUTERS*
REUTERS*
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