McCain sinks GOP’s ‘skinny repeal’ of Obamacare

WASHINGTON—Three Republican senators broke away from their party early Friday morning to sink a seven-year quest to repeal Obamacare—forcing the GOP back to the drawing board on finding a healthcare solution. Just after 1:30 a.m., Sen. John McCain of Arizona delivered the final blow, joining fellow Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine to vote against the “skinny repeal” of Obamacare. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had only released the legislation—which would have repealed the individual healthcare mandate, the medical device tax, and defunded Planned Parenthood for one year—just hours before. Republicans expected Collins and Murkowski to vote no, but McCain’s surprise flip was one defection too many. “I’ve stated time and time again that one of the major failures of Obamacare was that it was rammed through Congress by Democrats on a strict-party line basis without a single Republican vote,” McCain said in a statement. “We should not make the mistakes of the past that has led to Obamacare’s collapse.” McConnell rose to speak on the Senate floor after he realized Republicans failed to fulfill their longtime promise of axing the Affordable Care Act. “This is clearly a disappointing moment,” he said. “Our constituents have suffered through an awful lot under Obamacare. We thought they deserved better. It’s why I and many of my colleagues did as we promised and voted to repeal this failed law. We told our constituents we would vote that way. And when the moment came, when the moment came, most of us did.”