The House will not vote on the Republican health care bill Thursday, a GOP aide said, further putting efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare in jeopardy.
The decision came after multiple high-level and tense meetings at the White House and Capitol that failed to broker a compromise.
House Speaker Paul Ryan abruptly postponed, for a second time, a scheduled press briefing, instead staying behind closed doors to negotiate.
The conservative House Freedom Caucus, whose members appear to hold the key to any agreement on a final bill, met with President Donald Trump earlier Thursday. The session started with a standing ovation for the President, but there was little obvious progress they could point to, a GOP source said.
One senior administration official described the meeting with one word: "Intense."
Apparently Trump had been on the phones last night and today desperately trying to convince holdouts to vote on the bill, but in the end it was not enough.
Trump has already stripped the bill down to its bare bones in order to get conservatives on board, making it essentially dead on arrival in the Senate.You were given many lies with #Obamacare! Go with our plan! Call your Rep & let them know you're behind #AHCA ➡️ https://t.co/xAX4GJiO8z http://pic.twitter.com/qp90G49e0j— President Trump (@POTUS) March 23, 2017
Get a load of this courtesy of the New York Times:
President Trump had agreed to many of the demands that the most conservative House Republicans had made, including ending requirements that health insurance plans provide a basic set of benefits like maternity care, emergency services, mental health and wellness visits.
I bet the bill still covers Viagra though. What do you want to bet?
I have no idea if Ryan and Trump will eventually be able to finally whip up the votes needed to pass this thing in the House, but there is no doubt that whatever pernicious piece of legislation passes muster with rabid Right will never make it through the Senate.
This thing is as dead as Trump's hopes of winning a second term.
Here is Nancy Pelosi schooling Donald Trump and Paul Ryan on how to get a bill passed.
That my friends is an epic burn!Pelosi with 🔥🔥 for GOP decision to insist on vote today.— Dan Diamond (@ddiamond) March 23, 2017
"Rookie's error, Donald Trump… Clearly you're not ready." http://pic.twitter.com/zBmTUtruxy
Source http://ift.tt/2ni2GMk
