It was a stunning defeat for the new president after he had demanded House Republicans vote on the legislation Friday, threatening to leave "Obamacare" in place and move on to other issues if the vote failed. The bill was withdrawn minutes before the vote was to occur.
The failure of the Republicans’ three-month blitz to repeal President Barack Obama’s signature domestic achievement exposed deep divisions in the Republican Party that the election of a Republican president could not mask. It cast a long shadow over the ambitious agenda that Mr. Trump and Republican leaders had promised to enact once their party assumed power at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue.
'We had no Democratic support'
Trump said House Republicans were 10 to 15 votes shy of getting the bill passed and blamed the defeat on Democrats. House Speaker Paul Ryan pulled the bill minutes before a vote was to take place as it became apparent there was not enough support for passage. Democrats were united against it, and a conservative bloc of Republicans was unmoved by 11th-hour negotiations.
The Huffington Post reported that Trump said he agreed to pull the bill once Ryan made it clear the legislation lacked the votes to pass. In subsequent remarks, both Trump and Ryan indicated they were ready to move on from health care to other issues. The failure to pass the bill represents a devastating defeat for Trump and Ryan ― and throws into doubt a crusade that has defined Republican politics for over seven years.
The healthcare failure called into question not only Trump's ability to get other key parts of his agenda, including tax cuts and a boost in infrastructure spending, through Congress but the Republican Party's capacity to govern effectively. Neither Trump nor Ryan indicated any plans to try to tackle healthcare legislation again anytime soon.
Paul Ryan on failed healthcare bill
I want to thank @POTUS, @VP, @SecPriceMD, & @HouseGOP members. There remains so much we can do to help improve people’s lives. And we will. pic.twitter.com/JYxgAp9oFn
— Paul Ryan (@SpeakerRyan) March 24, 2017
Ryan’s Trumpcare was a horrendous concoction and should disabuse fawning congressional reporters of the notion that the speaker is a man of deep intellect and self-reflection. Had the bill not fallen flat on its face this Friday, it would have had little chance of passing the Senate.
