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Skeptical Republicans to vote for 'horrible' healthcare bill – live Skeptical Republicans set to vote for 'horrible' healthcare bill – live
(35 minutes later)
6.11am BST
06:11
In case you need more drama, McCain just went over to a cluster of Democrats including Chuck Schumer who all seemed happy to see him. They started a conversation where Schumer asked a question and then McCain dramatically seemed to imitate someone saying “fuck” while shaking their fists.
6.06am BST
06:06
The conversation with Pence and McCain has finally ended.
McCain was talking to Pence for a long time. Both men smile briefly as Pence walks away.
6.02am BST
06:02
Senate Republicans are delaying Obamacare repeal vote
Senate Republicans have now kept the procedural vote preceding the vote on repeal open long after everyone has voted. As this is happening, Vice President Mike Pence has been talking to John McCain, long considered the most likely Republican to provide the third no vote that would kill the bill, for over 20 minutes.
Updated
at 6.11am BST
5.55am BST
05:55
McCain and Pence are still talking in a circle that includes Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Murkowski’s colleague Dan Sullivan from Alaska. The vote is still being held open, ten minutes after every senator has voted and Mitch McConnell is now talking Dean Heller of Nevada, the most vulnerable Senate Republican in 2018.
5.50am BST
05:50
The procedural vote is still being held open. Despite the fact every senator has voted, they are not moving forward with the next vote. In fact, Mike Pence is now talking to McCain, Murkowski and Collins. This is a strong indicator that the Republicans may not actually have the votes right now to move forward.
5.42am BST
05:42
The Procedural Vote Fails
We are now getting ready for the main event as Mike Pence and Mitch McConnell are having a long conversation together. Potential Republican defectors are also chatting.
Susan Collins, who has a smile on her face, just walked over to Murkowski and McCain and the three are laughing
5.37am BST5.37am BST
05:3705:37
The body language and social interactions on the Senate floor around John McCain are being eagerly watched right now.The body language and social interactions on the Senate floor around John McCain are being eagerly watched right now.
After a conversation with John Cornyn & Mike Pence, Jeff Flake has taken a seat next to John McCain. Murkowski is standing on the other sideAfter a conversation with John Cornyn & Mike Pence, Jeff Flake has taken a seat next to John McCain. Murkowski is standing on the other side
5.26am BST5.26am BST
05:2605:26
Procedural Vote Has Begun Before The Final VoteProcedural Vote Has Begun Before The Final Vote
The Senate is now voting on a “motion to commit” which would table the bill. A yes vote is against the bill and a no vote is for the bill. However, senators often vote along party lines on these votes and may not necessarily tip their hands if they are planning on breaking ranks on the final bill.The Senate is now voting on a “motion to commit” which would table the bill. A yes vote is against the bill and a no vote is for the bill. However, senators often vote along party lines on these votes and may not necessarily tip their hands if they are planning on breaking ranks on the final bill.
UpdatedUpdated
at 5.27am BSTat 5.27am BST
5.25am BST5.25am BST
05:2505:25
All eyes are on John McCain as the Senate goes through a procedural vote before the final vote. He’s speaking in a corner of the Senate with John Hoeven of North Dakota and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.All eyes are on John McCain as the Senate goes through a procedural vote before the final vote. He’s speaking in a corner of the Senate with John Hoeven of North Dakota and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.
5.15am BST5.15am BST
05:1505:15
Intrigue over McCain’s vote is building on the Senate floorIntrigue over McCain’s vote is building on the Senate floor
After McCain came on floor, he spoke to Cornyn, who appeared upset, turned around and gave a thumbs down to Daines.After McCain came on floor, he spoke to Cornyn, who appeared upset, turned around and gave a thumbs down to Daines.
5.07am BST
05:07
John McCain is still publicly undecided on the bill and is not tipping his hand. McCain has had a dramatic week after returning to the Senate after a diagnosis of brain cancer and giving an emotional speech about the constitutional role of the chamber.
McCain headed up the senate elevators just now, tells clustered reporters "Wait for the show."
4.58am BST
04:58
Lois Beckett
The Guardian’s Lois Beckett has a dispatch from the protest outside the Capitol:
Jill Jacobs, mother of two 24-year-olds with cerebral palsy, has been camped outside of the Russell Senate office building for the past four days as part of a protest organized by Adapt, a disability rights group. She said she was one of dozens arrested earlier this week.
Addressing a group of at least 250 protesters outside the Capitol on Thursday night, Jacobs said that if Congress destroys healthcare and slashes Medicaid, “My son will die...they will die.”
She said the last time she had to protest at the federal level was the late 1990s when she pushed for a public statue of FDR in a wheelchair. “I don’t come out and protest,” she told me. This is “my children’s lives
4.57am BST
04:57
As the Senate ticks down the final minutes of debate over the health care bill introduced less than two hours ago, Republican Mike Enzi is talking about the definition of live births in European countries.
4.47am BST
04:47
In a moving appeal to Republicans, Mazie Hirono, a Democratic senator from Hawaii who is undergoing treatment for kidney cancer, urged them to vote down the healthcare bill.
During her nearly five-minute remarks on the Senate floor, Hirono became emotional as she described the death of her sister as a child in Japan.
“She died at home, not in a hospital where maybe her life could have been saved,” Hirono said, her voice swelling with emotion. “It’s hard for me to talk about this. I think you can tell. Give me a moment.”
Hirono then addressed her own diagnosis and said she was grateful to have healthcare so she could focus on the treatment she needed and not on how to pay for it.
“I will yield the floor by asking my friends to show the compassion to everybody in this country that you showed me,” she said, in closing. “We should all be voting to send this vote to committee so we can debate it.”
Watch her full remarks here:
To my GOP colleagues, after I was diagnosed with cancer, you showed me your care. You showed me your compassion. So where is that tonight? pic.twitter.com/BfWMIDd0Vo
4.46am BST
04:46
Outside groups are already denouncing the new skinny repeal plan. One of the most notable is the American Medical Association.
"Skinny" bill is a toxic prescription that would make matters worse. Senate: Oppose the #SkinnyRepeal, pivot to a bipartisan effort. pic.twitter.com/8jltsv3AOH
4.45am BST
04:45
Mike Pence Is In The Capitol
Vice President Mike Pence has arrived in the Capitol to be prepared to cast a potential tiebreaking vote. Two Republicans, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, are expected to vote no. If all other Senate Republicans support the bill, there will be a 5o-50 tie and it will require Pence to break the tie.
4.42am BST
04:42
Mike Enzi is burning the clock and refusing to let any Democrat ask any questions at all. He just announced “I expect to have this hour even if some of it is in silence” when a Democrat tried to ask him a question.
4.27am BST
04:27
Republicans are letting Mike Enzi, the chair of the Senate Budget Committee, close out debate. He is not taking questions and not giving time for Democrats to speak. They are not happy about it.
So frustrating. No hearings. We were just given the bill. And now Senator Enzi is refusing to answer questions about it on the floor. #Sham
4.22am BST
04:22
CBO Releases Score Of Skinny Repeal
The CBO has just released its score on the bill which was introduced in the Senate an hour ago by Mitch McConnell.
It will increase the number of uninsured Americans by 16 million and decrease the deficit by $178.8 billion over the next ten years.
4.17am BST
04:17
Lois Beckett
The Guardian’s Lois Beckett is at a protest just outside the Capitol where opponents of Obamacare repeal are gathering.
Very loud chants of "Shame! Shame! Shame!" echoing weirdly off the Captiol building. pic.twitter.com/rS0MJRnLgV
"My son will die...they will die." https://t.co/S4yA6KEVP5