Senate Republicans narrowly failed to pass a partial repeal of Obamacare early Friday morning when Arizona Sen. John McCain effectively killed the effort with a no vote, something his colleagues didn’t expect.
Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska also voted against the bill.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) introduced the bill Thursday, a pared-down version of a complete repeal, which would dismantle Obamacare one piece at a time. In follow-up interviews with the press, McConnell called the loss as “a disappointing moment” and said “it is time to move on.” Meanwhile, President Trump took to Twitter to express his disappointment: “3 Republicans and 48 Democrats let the American people down. As I said from the beginning, let ObamaCare implode, then deal. Watch!”
Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), did not issue a formal statement, but she, too, took to Twitter after the measure failed.
Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) voted for the repeal, and was optimistic of its passage on Thursday, but has not yet commented since it failed.
Blunt posted a statement on Twitter before the bill was taken up, saying “Obamacare has left Missouri families with higher costs, fewer options, and less access to quality healthcare. With today’s vote, I’m glad the Senate is moving forward with debate on the House passed bill to repeal and replace Obamacare” … “My hope is that we will be able to find common ground on solutions that meet the needs of Missourians, and create a more stable and reliable healthcare system.”