House Republicans are reportedly delaying a vote on the repeal of Obamacare after failing to garner sufficient support.
A GOP source told the Huffington Post that the vote, which had been scheduled for today, won’t be happening. The reported move comes after many conservatives voiced strong opposition for the bill. The House Freedom Caucus, attempting to reach a consensus, has negotiated with the White House on the possibility of eliminating some provisions of the Affordable Care Act, including Essential Health Benefits and provisions that would require coverage for people with preexisting conditions and allow adults to remain on their parents’ plan until the age of 26.
But those negotiations didn’t sit well with moderate Republicans, with Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) head of the moderate Republican Tuesday Group, announcing his opposition to the bill, according to HuffPo.
The delay is a huge loss for House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and President Donald Trump. Trump has pushed Congress to pass the American Health Care Act, even going so far as to hold a closed-door meeting with House Republicans on Tuesday. Republicans, however, haven’t bitten; conservatives don’t think the act cuts enough from Obamacare, and moderates worry that the cuts already go too deep.
And Trump’s negotiations may have hurt more than they helped – his offer to eliminate the Essential Health Benefits provision from the bill earned him no new support from conservatives, but lost him the support of a slew of moderate Republicans.
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