House delays Obamacare repeal vote

UPDATE: WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump told House Republicans on Thursday night he was finished negotiating over the American Health Care Act (AHCA), forcing a vote this afternoon as support for the measure remains in limbo.

After delaying the originally scheduled Thursday evening vote, GOP leaders huddled late into the night with top White House staff. Trump chief strategist Steve Bannon and White House counselor Kellyanne Conway spoke with skeptical lawmakers about the president’s wishes and told them Trump was ready to move on to other agenda items. They gave the House a choice: pass the AHCA or keep Obamacare.

The House Rules Committee finalized the framework for the bill and scheduled four hours of floor debate before a final vote around 4:30 p.m. The bill passed a procedural vote in the House this morning.

Trump continued to prod this morning, calling out the conservative House Freedom Caucus, some of the bill’s most vocal opponents, on social media.

“The irony is that the Freedom Caucus, which is very pro-life and against Planned Parenthood, allows P.P. to continue if they stop this plan!” Trump tweeted. The AHCA includes redirecting funds from Planned Parenthood to health centers that do not provide abortion.

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., a Freedom Caucus member, questioned on Twitter the wisdom of Trump’s ultimatum: “If Exec branch tells Legislative branch ‘when 2 vote’ ‘how 2 vote’ & ‘what it will b allowed 2 work on if vote fails,’ is that a republic?”

OUR EARLIER REPORT (3/23/17, 5:47 p.m.): The White House and GOP congressional leaders postponed a vote on the Obamacare repeal-and-replace legislation today after failing to rally enough support.

President Donald Trump met with around two dozen skeptical members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus today trying to move them from no to yes, but they left the meeting without striking a deal. More than 30 House Republicans say they oppose the American Health Care Act, and there can be no more than 22 defectors for the bill to pass. GOP leaders scheduled a procedural vote tonight and said a full vote had to wait until Friday or longer.

After the White House meeting, Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., chairman of the Freedom Caucus, huddled with his members for nearly two hours going back and forth on how to proceed. Meadows said he was “desperately trying to get to yes” but wasn’t there yet.

“We’re committed to stay as long as it takes to get this done because the president has promised this to the people, and we’ve promised it to the American people,” Meadows told reporters after the Freedom Caucus meeting. He said Republicans imposed an artificial deadline on themselves, and they needed to slow down and make sure the bill fulfills the promises lawmakers made to their constituents.

“This is a president who wants to get things done,” Meadows said. “And so I can tell you the Freedom Caucus is committed to working with the president to get this done.”

But GOP leaders have more than just the Freedom Caucus to worry about. So far, no Democrat publicly supports the AHCA, and moderate Republicans are having a hard time stomaching it, as well.

Ryan met with lawmakers for more than two hours Wednesday night to negotiate, but he failed to shift opinions.

Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pa., chairman of the moderate House Tuesday Group, released a statement after the meeting announcing the legislation still missed the mark.

“After careful deliberation, I cannot support the bill and will oppose it,” Dent said. “I believe this bill, in its current form, will lead to the loss of coverage and make insurance unaffordable for too many Americans, particularly for low-to-moderate income and older individuals.”

House Republicans scheduled a conference meeting at 7 p.m. today to discuss next steps.