GOP pulls healthcare bill after signs pointed to embarrassing defeat
President Donald Trump had demanded that a vote be held but, as the day wore on, defeat seemed imminent.
Lacking the votes to pass the American Health Care Act, House Speaker Paul Ryan pulled the bill rather than see members of his own party usher in its defeat.
After days of late night negotiations, GOP leadership could not get the 216 votes needed for the bill to pass the House and move on to the Senate.
While all 193 Democrats were expected to vote against the bill, it was expected to go down due to lack of support from conservatives and some moderates among the 237 Republicans.
Ryan and leaders gave concessions in the bill to conservatives on moving the choice for essential benefits coverage to the states, but apparently it wasn't enough for Freedom Caucus members who wanted a full repeal of what they called "Obamacare Lite."
The Rules Committee cleared the bill out of committee by a vote of 9-3 Friday morning. House members entered into four hours of debate but the rules prohibited motions from the floor.
[Also: GOP strips essential benefits from healthcare bill ahead of do-or-die Friday vote]
President Trump had said Thursday this was a do-or-die vote on the bill. If voted down, the Affordable Care Act would continue, he said.
Ryan began a late afternoon press conference by saying all new administrations have growing pains.
"We're feeling those growing pains today," Ryan said. "We came really close today but we came up short….This was a disappointing day for us."
Ryan said he told the president that the best thing to do was to pull the bill and Trump agreed.
Obamacare will get worse as consumers see their premiums rise and there's fewer health insurance plans available, he said.
"Obamacare is the law the land and will remain the law of the land until it's replaced," Ryan said.
Asked if Republicans would prop up the ACA, Ryan said, "It is so fundamentally flawed I don't know if that's possible. I'm worried about the coming premium increases."
Ryan wouldn't say who was responsible for not passing the bill, but said there was a block of "no" votes that didn't change.
"Some of the members of that caucus were voting with us but not enough were," he said, presumeably referring to the Freedom Caucus.
Ryan tied the bill to tax reform.
"We're going to fix the rest of the tax code," he said.
"This is a set back no two ways about it," Ryan said. "But it's not the end of the story."
Around 1:30 p.m. Friday, Trump summoned Ryan to the Oval Office where Ryan reportedly told the president Republicans didn't have the votes to pass the bill.
Meanwhile, Democrats on the floor spoke of the numbers losing coverage under the bill that also gives tax breaks to the wealthy. Republicans said they were keeping their promise to the American people to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, in which consumers saw premiums rise by double digits.
"It gives a trillion dollar tax break to the wealthy and puts 24 million out (of insurance)," said Rep. Jim McGovern, a Democrat from Massachusetts.
The president, "left everything on the field on this bill," White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said during a briefing early Friday afternoon.
After meeting with conservative Republicans earlier in the week, 16 walked out as a "yes" vote, Spicer said.
"Frankly at this point, it's not a question of negotiating anymore," Spicer said. "There's no question in my mind that the president and team have left everything in the field, ideas to strengthen the bill. It's up to members of the House to decide. "
Spicer added, "We're getting closer and closer."
Twitter: @SusanJMorse
