John McCain sinks ‘skinny repeal’ of Obamacare health act

Arizona senator, whose war record Trump mocked, deals major blow to president’s agenda in dramatic late-night vote

Arizona senator John McCain torpedoed the Obamacare repeal bill – and with it Donald Trump’s legislative agenda – in a night of high drama on Capitol Hill.

McCain’s vote against the bill in the early hours of Friday morning delivered a major setback for Republicans who have spent seven years vowing to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

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Republicans back ‘skinny repeal’ after guarantee it will not become law

Sceptical senators Lindsey Graham and Ron Johnson agree to vote for repeal on condition that it will trigger a congressional conference committee

Senate Republican leaders have unveiled their so-called “skinny repeal” bill – denounced by conservatives as a “fraud” and a “disaster” – in an eleventh-hour push to pass a pared-down repeal of the Affordable Care Act.

Related: Republican quartet will only vote for skinny repeal if assured it won't become law – live

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John McCain had the chance to do the right thing on healthcare. He failed | Lucia Graves

There are many reasons to respect the Arizona senator, but his remarkable stoicism and service can’t excuse his yes vote in the Senate

John McCain often gets cast as a truth-teller to Donald Trump, but his voting record says otherwise. And nowhere was that more clear than on Tuesday when, despite his own ill health, when it came to the decision of whether to take other people’s healthcare away, he cast a decisive vote in the wrong direction.

Related: Senate Republicans vote to...

Bipartisan hugs and a waltz with Bernie Sanders: McCain’s moving return to DC

The Arizona senator’s return to Washington was met with cheers and applause, even as he spoke passionately about the need for compromise in the Senate

In an emotional return to the Capitol, John McCain gave an impassioned speech about the state of American politics shortly after voting to begin debate on repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Related: Senate Republicans vote to open debate on repealing and replacing Obamacare

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McCain calls for cooperation over healthcare: ‘We’re getting nothing done’ – video

Senator John McCain speaks in the Senate on Tuesday following his return to vote on the healthcare bill. McCain, recently diagnosed with cancer, told both parties that cooperation would be necessary in the future. He also said he would not support the healthcare bill in its current form

  • Senate Republicans vote to open debate on repealing and replacing Obamacare
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Now Trump is relying on his fiercest opponent – John McCain | Mary Dejevsky

The Arizona senator has been a virtual one-man opposition to the president. But now his support is vital to attempts to repeal Obamacare • Mary Dejevsky is a writer and broadcaster

John McCain was guaranteed a hero’s welcome in Washington when he returned for today’s crucial Senate vote. His disclosure, just days earlier, that he had been diagnosed with brain cancer, had prompted an outpouring of tributes to the veteran senator whose whole adult life, it sometimes seemed, had been spent ch...

John McCain to return for pivotal US Senate vote on Obamacare

Senior Republican senator, who has brain cancer, could play a crucial role in keeping efforts to overhaul healthcare afloat

John McCain is to return to the US Senate for the first time since he announced his brain cancer diagnosis for a make-or-break session in the Republican effort to repeal President Obama’s healthcare reforms.

Senators will be asked on Tuesday whether to begin debate on legislation to supplant the 2010 Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare – landmark legi...