In Washington, on the 25th of July, the Senate finally voted in favor to advance to floor Debate for President Trump's and the Republican party's proposed legislation to remove Obamacare. This does not mean that Obamacare will be removed at this point, as this vote only implies that the Senate is willing to consider new bills to replace the current system. After the original approval, which was won by a vote of 51-50, a health care bill was presented by the Republican party and quickly rejected. Therefore, despite earning a small victory earlier today, President Trump and his party still have a long way to go before an alternative to Obamacare can be installed.
Senator John McCain proves the deciding vote
After recently being diagnosed with brain cancer, Senator John McCain returned to the Capitol to vote earlier today. With all of the Democratic party and two members from the Republican party voting against opening the debate, it was Senator McCain's "yes" vote that proved decisive; as it tied the vote at 50-50. Using his constitutional right, Vice President Mike Pence then broke the tie, and the vote went in favor of President Trump and his party.
Despite voting "yes," Senator McCain remained critical of the proposed change and suggested that “if this process ends in failure, which seems likely, then let’s return to regular order.” This pessimistic outlook is understandable, as the new health care has already been amended and rejected numerous times by the Senate.
Last month, a defeated Senator John McConnell suggested that Obamacare will remain in place until further notice, as an agreeable alternative could not be found. The Senate only re-opened the debate once summoned by President Trump last week, as he demanded that they came up with a solution.
Senate rejects new health care proposal
As predicted by Senator McCain, hours after opening the debate on the new bill, the Senate firmly rejected a new proposal to replace Obamacare. This is obviously not a nail in the coffin for President Trump and his party, as talks will continue to be held over the upcoming days but the definitive nature of the rejection demonstrates just how much works is needed.
The Democratic campaign groups have already set their sights on a handful of Republican officials and announced that they will target them with an ad campaign, in hope of bringing the debate to a clear conclusion.