Ryan fails Trump as Obamacare repeal and replacement bill is pulled before vote.

Speaker Ryan can’t deliver a replacement bill to Obamacare

In a stunning blow to Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) his American Health Care Act the repeal and replacement bill had to be pulled because the measure did not have the 216 votes needed to pass the bill.

The legislation that was headed toward the vote seemed doomed to failure. According to a number of Whip counters there were 36 Republicans who were set to vote no, with many more possibly voting against the measure.

The GOP could only afford 22 defections, the decision to pull the vote came after Ryan met with President Donald Trump at the White House at around 2 p.m. today.

Photo: AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

The Republicans who campaigned for seven years to repeal and replace Obamacare chose to take a pass on the GOP replacement bill. They would not vote on a bill was crafted by Speaker Ryan.

The conservative Freedom Caucus showed their power as they were the key in keeping the AHCA from passing. They were unwilling to back the bill and while they showed they have the power to halt legislation they took no pleasure in the outcome.

“You can’t pretend and say this is a win for us,” said Representative Mark Walker, Republican of North Carolina, who conceded it was a “good moment” for Democrats.

The Republican bill would have replaced the Affordable Care Act, known informally as Obamacare, which mandated that almost everyone have health insurance, with a system of age-based tax credits to purchase health insurance plans.

In this March 8, 2017, photo, House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis. speaks during a news conference at the Republican National Committee Headquarters on Capitol Hill in Washington. House Republicans are working on a companion to their bill replacing “Obamacare,” a legislative second act that would ease cross-state sale of health insurance and limit jury awards for pain and suffering in malpractice lawsuits. The problem: the so-called “sidecar” bill lacks the votes in the Senate. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

In the end it not only did the bill not appeal to conservatives it also did not have the backing of more moderate Republicans who were anxiously aware of the Congressional Budget Office’s assessment that the bill would leave 24 million more Americans without insurance.

President Trump is moving on to deal with other issues while the House and the Senate will tackle healthcare later down the line. In a way today’s non vote gives Trump a better chance to get a bill that he wants and comes closer to meeting his campaign promises on healthcare.

 

Jim Williams is the Washington Bureau Chief, Digital Director as well as the Director of Special Projects for Genesis Communications. He is starting his third year as part of the team. This is Williams 40th year in the media business, and in that time he has served in a number of capacities. He is a seven time Emmy Award winning television producer, director, writer and executive. He has developed four regional sports networks, directed over 2,000 live sporting events including basketball, football, baseball hockey, soccer and even polo to name a few sports. Major events include three Olympic Games, two World Cups, two World Series, six NBA Playoffs, four Stanley Cup Playoffs, four NCAA Men’s National Basketball Championship Tournaments (March Madness), two Super Bowl and over a dozen college bowl games. On the entertainment side Williams was involved s and directed over 500 concerts for Showtime, Pay Per View and MTV Networks.