The U.S. House of Representatives was preparing to vote at 3:30 pm on the repeal and replacement of Obamacare but it did not have close to the number of votes needed to pass. House Speaker Paul Ryan pulled the bill at the very last minute, sending the House into recess.
Make no mistake: this terrible bill was an unmitigated disaster for Republicans and Donald Trump, the self-described great dealmaker.
Paul Ryan held a news conference. Listen to it above.
House Speaker Paul D. Ryan conceded, “We’re going to be living with Obamacare for the foreseeable future.”
Mr. Ryan had rushed to the White House shortly after noon to tell Mr. Trump he did not have the votes for a repeal bill that had been promised for seven years — since the day President Barack Obama signed his landmark health care act into law.
Mr. Trump, in a telephone interview moments after the bill was pulled, blamed Democrats and predicted that they would seek a deal within a year, he asserted, after “Obamacare explodes” because of high premiums.
