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WASHINGTON – In a stunning defeat for Republicans, House Speaker Paul Ryan on Friday canceled a vote on the GOP bill to replace Obamacare because he did not have enough votes from his own members to pass the legislation.

The failure to pass the bill is a major blow to both Ryan and President Trump in their efforts to show what Republicans can accomplish when they control both Congress and the White House.

It also underscored just how divided the Republican Party is, with factions of hardline conservatives and moderates rebelling against their own leadership.

Repealing and replacing Obamacare was a major campaign promise made by Trump and scores of GOP House members and candidates in last year’s election. But they were never able to agree on the best way to achieve their goal.

Trump threw his weight behind the GOP replacement bill, cajoling and strong-arming House members to vote for the bill. Ryan also made it his top legislative priority, exhorting members to take action on what he called their best chance to replace Obamacare’s government mandates with a patient-driven system.

 

READ MORE: WKYC.com

Article Courtesy of USA Today, WUSA-TV Washington D.C., and WKYC Channel 3 News Cleveland

Picture Courtesy of Xinhua News Agency and Getty Images

Obamacare Repeal No Longer Considered Following Decreasing GOP Support  was originally published on wzakcleveland.com