The punching bag known as Trumpcare was dealt another blow as several outlets reported the House would not be voting on the health care bill as scheduled on Thursday. While a handful of Republicans have dropped support for the plan, the House has decided that perhaps another day will make a difference, and Reuters has tweeted that Friday shall be the chosen day, although that may also change.
Republican lawmakers have worked tirelessly to get unconvinced members of the party on board, even bringing in Donald Trump to close the deal. But when it was reported that Trump’s negotiating cost the bill votes, the GOP brass was in scramble mode. CNN notes that when a meeting with House Speaker Paul Ryan didn’t produce the desired result, they met with Trump at the White House to hammer out a compromise on the bill.
But that also fell flat, and now they’re hoping a postponement will do the trick. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, who is a Republican in opposition of the bill, said in a statement that the bill didn’t cover all the bases, and she couldn’t vote for it:
“While I appreciate this week’s effort by Speaker Ryan and his leadership team to better protect older Americans from health care cost increases, the difficulties this bill would create for millions of children were left unaddressed…I will not vote to let those kids fall through the cracks.”
But the GOP may have another shot to repeal Obamacare, although a specific Friday morning vote time has not been announced.