Republican Obamacare replacement bill wins enough votes to pass House

After years of debate, the House on Thursday voted to repeal key parts of the Affordable Care Act and replace them with new provisions.

The vote, which President Donald Trump was planning to tout as a big victory, sends the Republican-sponsored bill to gut Obamacare to the Senate for consideration.

But winning approval for the bill could be even more difficult in the Senate than it has been in the House, where Republican leaders struggled for nearly two months to wrangle enough votes in their caucus to secure its passage.

The bill passed by a vote of 217 to 213, which was one more “yes” vote that was needed for passage.

All 193 Democrats voting opposed the bill. They were joined by 20 Republicans voting “no.”

“A lot of us have waited seven years to case this vote,” House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said shortly before the voting began. “Many of us are here because we pledged to cast this vote: to repeal and replace Obamacare.”

 

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