ohn McCain arrives on Capitol Hill as the Senate was to vote on moving head on health care with the goal of erasing much of Barack Obama's law AP Photo/Andrew Harnik
Senator John McCain, the 30-year Senate veteran recently diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer, returned to the Senate to help advance a Republican healthcare plan that even he decried as a “shell of a bill”.
Democrats and Republicans alike stood and applauded as the outspoken 80-year-old stepped onto the floor, minutes after arriving from his home in Arizona. He cautiously embraced his Senate colleagues before casting his crucial vote: A “yes” on the motion to begin debate on a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare.
The bill Mr McCain helped to advance – a version of the “repeal and replace” bill passed by the House – is notably unpopular with voters. The Congressional Budget Office estimates it will result in 23 million people losing health coverage in the next 10 years. Even as Mr McCain was entering the Capitol, protesters were being removed from it, some of them screaming, “Don’t kll us, kill the bill!”
The irony was not lost on some.
"So it happened," tweeted MSNBC host Joy Ann Reid. "McCain returned to the Senate to a standing ovation, and promptly voted to take away millions of people's healthcare."
Even so, the vote marked a decisive victory for Senate Republicans, who had thus far failed to muster the 50 votes necessary to even debate the legislation. Even Tuesday's motion to proceed passed with the bare minimum of 51 Republican votes, forcing Vice President Mike Pence to step in to break the tie.
President Donald Trump quickly took to Twitter to congratulate Republicans, and to thank Mr McCain for turning out for the “vital” vote.
“Thank you for coming to D.C. for such a vital vote,” he tweeted. “Congrats to all Rep. We can now deliver grt healthcare to all Americans!”
I hope we can rely on humility, cooperation & dependence on each other to better serve the people who elected us youtube.com/watch?v=rSbkqq…
Mr McCain, however, marked the occasion with a speech condemning the legislation he had just voted onto the floor.
“I voted for the motion to proceed to allow debate to continue and amendments to be offered,” he said. “I will not vote for this bill as it is today”.
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