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US healthcare bill: Blow for Trump as House vote delayed US healthcare bill: Trump issues Friday vote ultimatum
(about 5 hours later)
A vote on President Donald Trump's new health care bill in the House of Representatives has been delayed. US President Donald Trump has demanded a make-or-break Friday vote on a new health care bill in the House of Representatives.
The postponement is a setback for the president who had insisted he would win the numbers to pass it through the lower chamber of Congress on Thursday. The American Healthcare Act is intended to replace parts of President Barack Obama's signature law.
The American Healthcare Act is intended to replace parts of President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law. But Thursday's vote was delayed because of opposition from some Republicans - despite Mr Trump's repeated attempts to persuade them to back the legislature.
He now says he wants to move on and vote - whatever the result on Friday.
White House budget director Mick Mulvaney said this was exactly the message delivered to Republican lawmakers at a meeting behind closed doors on Thursday.
"For seven-and-a-half years we have been promising the American people that we will repeal and replace this broken law because it's collapsing and it's failing families, and tomorrow we're proceeding," House Speaker Paul Ryan said.
Meanwhile, Chris Collins, New York's Republican representative, said: "The president has said he wants a vote tomorrow, up or down".
"If for any reason it is down, we are just going to move forward with additional parts of his agenda."
Repealing and replacing so-called Obamacare was a major plank of Mr Trump's election campaign.Repealing and replacing so-called Obamacare was a major plank of Mr Trump's election campaign.
Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Republicans would still meet on Thursday evening but the plan was for a House vote on Friday. Thursday's vote postponement is a setback for the president who had insisted he would win the numbers to pass it through the lower chamber of Congress on that day.
A White House official said that "the vote will be in the morning to avoid voting at 3AM... We feel this should be done in the light of day, not in the wee hours of the night and we are confident the bill will pass in the morning". The problem is that Republicans are unable find a compromise: the current reforms go too far for some and not far enough for others, the BBC's Laura Bicker in Washington says.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Mr Trump had made a "rookie's error for bringing this up on a day when clearly you're not ready". The hope is that Mr Trump's new strategy will force Republican lawmakers opposed to the bill to vote "yes" - the alternative being that Mr Obama's health law would be kept in place.
Delay better than defeat - Anthony Zurcher, BBC News, Washington But the outcome is far from assured, our correspondent says.
After a tumultuous day on Capitol Hill, it has become apparent that there simply aren't enough votes to pass the healthcare reform law. At the moment, it may not even be close. Earlier on Thursday, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Mr Trump had made a "rookie's error for bringing this up on a day when clearly you're not ready".
Minutes before the announced delay, the president himself was insisting that a vote would happen on Thursday night, so this turn of events signifies an embarrassing setback.
If success was just a vote or two away, the evening would probably have proceeded as planned, with Speaker Paul Ryan and Donald Trump offering whatever threats or entreaties were necessary to edge past the finish line. Instead, the bill remains on the edge of an abyss.
For Republicans, a delay is better than outright defeat, of course, a scenario which would have undermined both the president's claims to be a dealmaking supremo and Mr Ryan's ability to control his party's hardliners.
The White House now has more time to negotiate with the conservative House Freedom Caucus, who represent the best, possible last, chance to salvage the bill. Such support will come with a high price, however, with any move to the right making the legislation all the harder to pass in the more moderate-minded Senate.
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer has all week insisted the administration would get the numbers and that the bill would pass, saying there was "no plan B".
The bill needs 215 votes to pass but ran into opposition mainly from conservative Republicans who believed it did not roll back enough of Mr Obama's Affordable Care Act.The bill needs 215 votes to pass but ran into opposition mainly from conservative Republicans who believed it did not roll back enough of Mr Obama's Affordable Care Act.
More on the healthcare story
Obamacare helped 20 million previously uninsured Americans get health insurance but has been plagued by increases in insurance premiums, which were also a problem before the health law.Obamacare helped 20 million previously uninsured Americans get health insurance but has been plagued by increases in insurance premiums, which were also a problem before the health law.
Mr Trump promised a new law that would cover more people and at a lower cost.Mr Trump promised a new law that would cover more people and at a lower cost.
The Republican bill keeps some of the popular elements of Obamacare but limits future federal funding for Medicaid, which covers low-income people.The Republican bill keeps some of the popular elements of Obamacare but limits future federal funding for Medicaid, which covers low-income people.
A new estimate by the Congressional Budget Office released on Thursday evening said recent changes to the bill would make it costlier than previously thought.A new estimate by the Congressional Budget Office released on Thursday evening said recent changes to the bill would make it costlier than previously thought.
The number of uninsured Americans would rise to 24 million by 2026 under the new law, the budget analysis said.The number of uninsured Americans would rise to 24 million by 2026 under the new law, the budget analysis said.
Groups representing doctors, hospitals and the elderly have said they are opposed to the Republican bill.Groups representing doctors, hospitals and the elderly have said they are opposed to the Republican bill.
More on the healthcare story
The conservative House Freedom Caucus met Mr Trump on Thursday and afterwards said there was "no deal".
The failure to go to a vote is a blow for the president, who has projected himself as a master dealmaker and has spent the week visiting the Capitol and calling senators on the phone to win over opponents.
House Freedom Caucus chairman Mark Meadows said there were "not enough members to get a yes, but progress is being made".
He played down what he called the "artificial deadline" of Thursday.
Mr Meadows insisted: "We are going to get to the finish line."
Key elements of the new bill:Key elements of the new bill: