US Senate Postpones Vote on Repeal of Obamacare Due to McCain’s Surgery

The voting in the US Senate on repeal of the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, and its replacement with a revised healthcare plan, proposed by the Republicans, was postponed as party’s senator John McCain will not be able to attend the session due to the surgery, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Sunday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Saturday, McCain’s press service said that the senator underwent a procedure to remove a blood clot from above his eye on Friday and will be recovering from the surgery next week. McCain criticized his party’s revised healthcare plan and urged to make several changes to the draft earlier in the week.

“While John [McCain] is recovering, the Senate will continue our work on legislative items and nominations, and will defer consideration of the Better Care Act,” McConnell wrote on Twitter.

The majority leader wished McCain to have a “speedy” recovery and said that he is sure that  the senator will get back to work very soon.

The Republicans planned to vote in the Senate on the bill next week and were expected to struggle to pass the bill due to the criticism from Democrats and a number of Republican lawmakers. The opponents speak against the bill as the Congressional Budget Office announced in a report that 22 million more Americans would be without health insurance by 2026 compared to current law.

Former US President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act in 2010, and most of the provisions took effect in 2014. The act faced fierce opposition from the Republican Party.