Ryan, who has championed the bill, met with Trump at the White House before the bill was pulled from the House floor after hours of debate. Without the bill’s passage in Congress, Barack Obama’s signature domestic policy achievement, the 2010 Affordable Care Act – known as Obamacare – would remain in place despite seven years of Republican promises to dismantle it.
The action this evening was taken shortly after it became apparent it would not get the votes needed. A minimum of 215 Republican votes are needed to pass. The pull is a major blow to Trump who identified replacing the Obamacare programme as one of his major election pledges. It is unclear whether the bill might be rescheduled, although Trump told the Washington Post: ‘We just pulled it.’
