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Donald Trump's US healthcare bill vote withdrawn | Donald Trump's US healthcare bill vote withdrawn |
(35 minutes later) | |
A vote on US President Donald Trump's healthcare bill has been withdrawn at the last minute after it failed to gain enough support to pass in Congress. | |
House Speaker Paul Ryan said he and Mr Trump agreed to pull the vote, after it became apparent it would not get the minimum of 215 Republican votes needed. | |
The withdrawal is seen as a huge blow to Mr Trump. | The withdrawal is seen as a huge blow to Mr Trump. |
Repealing and replacing the programme known as Obamacare was one of his major election pledges. | Repealing and replacing the programme known as Obamacare was one of his major election pledges. |
Earlier on Friday, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said that the vote would go ahead at 15:30 (19:30 GMT). | |
'Came up short' | |
Mr Trump had reportedly warned Republicans that if they did not vote for his bill then they would be stuck with Barack Obama's healthcare programme for good. | |
However, multiple reports suggested that between 28 and 35 Republicans were opposed to his bill. | |
The vote was withdrawn shortly after 15:30, and the House is now in recess. | |
Some Republicans were unhappy that the bill cut health coverage too severely, while others felt the changes did not go far enough. | |
"We came really close today, but we came up short," Mr Ryan told reporters. | |
"We are going to be living with Obamacare for the foreseeable future," he added - but vowed that it was "not the end of the story". | |
Mr Trump told a Washington Post reporter that efforts on the healthcare bill were over for now. | |
The White House says Mr Trump will make a statement later on Friday. |