WASHINGTON – U.S. Republican lawmakers struggled to overcome differences over new healthcare legislation after President Donald Trump walked away from negotiations, telling them to pass the bill on Friday or keep Obamacare in place.
Trump, a real estate magnate who touted his dealmaking prowess in the 2016 presidential campaign, faced the first major test of how well his skills would work with Congress. Days of negotiations failed to produce a deal amid opposition from moderates and conservatives in his own Republican Party.
Republicans have a majority in the House but if all members were to vote on the bill, they can only afford to lose 21 votes.
At least 35 Republicans still plan to vote against the bill, according to CBS News, despite changes made to it this week.
White House budget director Mick Mulvaney told ABC it was not clear if Republicans had enough votes but the Republican chairman of the Rules Committee, Pete Sessions, said “I would anticipate we’ll pass the bill today.”
Global financial markets were watching what happens in Washington, where a failure on healthcare legislation would cast doubt on Trump’s ability to cut taxes and boost infrastructure spending and likely send shares lower. U.S. stocks opened higher on Friday, helped by higher oil prices.
U.S. stocks fell on Thursday and European markets opened lower on Friday, although the U.S. equity market looked set for a higher open. [MKTS/GLOB]
The House of Representatives was tentatively set to vote by 4:45 p.m. ET (2045 GMT) Friday on the Trump-backed bill to replace Democratic President Barack Obama’s 2010 Affordable Care Act. Continued…
Source – Reuters
