The American Health Care Act passed through the House of Representatives on Thursday, in a major win for President Donald Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan after a series of fits and starts on the Republican plan to overhaul the US healthcare system.
The legislation passed by a 217-213 margin, with 20 Republicans opposing the bill and all Democrats voting against it.
The process leading up to and during the vote was contentious. After the vote, Democratic members of the House began chanting, “Nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah, hey hey hey, goodbye,” apparently suggesting to their Republican counterparts that their votes would cost them control of the chamber.
GOP members also walked out of the Capitol to chants of, “Shame!” after the vote.
Directly before the vote, President Donald Trump said House GOP members would come to the White House if the bill passed for a celebration. The president delayed his trip to New York City.
“If victorious, Republicans will be having a big press conference at the beautiful Rose Garden of the White House immediately after vote!” Trump tweeted.
The AHCA succeeded after a last-minute amendment was added to the bill on Wednesday night to win over moderate holdouts. The addition convinced members who expressed concern over changes to the bill that experts said would undermine protections for Americans with preexisting conditions.
A victorious House vote for Republicans comes just over a month after the original version of the AHCA was yanked from the House floor after a cohort of moderates and conservatives in the GOP conference opposed it.
This is a developing story…
SEE ALSO: Here are the major changes to the GOP healthcare bill
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from Bob Bryan
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