A host of Republicans cast no votes. The bill needed a simple majority — 51 votes — to pass. It fell short: 45 senators voted in favor while 55 rejected the measure.
— Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) July 26, 2017
Many key figures were skeptical the measure would pass. The effort "certainly won’t be easy," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Wednesday. Fellow Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, however, urged colleagues "to join me in supporting a clean repeal of as much of this disastrous law as possible."
The Senate voted on whether to repeal parts of the ACA two years from now. The vote is being painted as a “key vote” by conservative lobby groups Americans for Prosperity and Freedom. These groups plan to make this vote a major part of evaluating candidates in the 2018 election cycle, Axios reports.
While Obamacare is often touted as an exclusively "health care" law agency like the National Institutes of Health, the IRS, and the Department of Health & Human Services would also feel the impact of any changes to the ACA.
US President Donald Trump has been blasting Obamacare since before he decided to run for president in 2015. Some political analysts said following the 2016 election cycle that the ACA may have been the biggest litmus test in politics since Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision on the issue of abortion.
On Tuesday, Vice President Mike Pence broke a 50-50 tie on a motion to proceed with debate about upending the current healthcare law. The Senate still has a few hours of "debate" left to use in the coming days.
