Washington: Republican efforts to overhaul or repeal Obamacare collapsed in the US Senate on Tuesday, dealing a sharp setback to President Donald Trump and the Republican Party's seven-year quest to kill President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law.
As I have always said, let ObamaCare fail and then come together and do a great healthcare plan. Stay tuned!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 18, 2017
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Trump lashes out after healthcare failure
'Let Obamacare fail,' US President Donald Trump tells reporters after the collapse of Republican planned healthcare reform.
The disarray in the Republican-controlled Senate rattled financial markets and cast doubt on the chances for getting Mr Trump's other domestic policy priorities, such as tax reform, through a divided Congress.
Mr Trump told reporters during a lunch with service members on Tuesday that Republicans have been talking for years about repealing and replacing Obamacare, and is disappointed they couldn't deliver.
Mr Trump said it's time to "Let Obamacare fail," and that "I'm not going to own it" and said Republicans "weren't going to own it".
Mr Trump blamed Democrats for the collapse of the efforts despite opposition from some Republicans, who hold a majority in both houses of Congress.
He says letting Obamacare fail will encourage Democrats to come to the table and negotiate.
"We will let Obamacare fail, and then the Democrats are going to come to us."
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US Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell had set a vote on a straight repeal of Obamacare after it became clear he did not have the votes to overhaul the healthcare law, but the new approach unravelled within hours.
Republican Senators Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska quickly announced they would not back repeal, dooming the fledgling effort. With Democrats united in opposition, Republicans can only afford to lose two votes to pass the measure in the Senate, where they have a slim 52-48 majority.
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"I do not think that it's going to be constructive to repeal a law that at this point is so interwoven within our healthcare system and then hope that over the next two years we will come up with some kind of replacement," Ms Collins told reporters.
Mr McConnell did not immediately say whether he would press ahead with a repeal vote, although it appeared doomed to failure.
Mr Trump made repealing and replacing Obamacare a top campaign promise last year, bragging on the campaign trail that it would be cheap and easy.
"My first day in office, I am going to ask Congress to put a bill on my desk getting rid of this disastrous law and replacing it with reforms that expand choice, freedom, affordability... You're going to have such great health care at a tiny fraction of the cost, and it's going to be so easy," he said in a speech on October 25.
Republicans have sought for seven years to gut the law.
Democrats were united in opposition against the Senate healthcare overhaul, calling it a giveaway to the rich that would hurt millions of the most vulnerable Americans.
The failure of the bill left Mr Trump with no major legislative achievements after almost six months in office and calls into question, not only about his ability to get other key parts of his agenda through Congress, but the Republican Party's capacity to govern effectively.
As the bill collapsed in the Senate, leaders in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives unveiled a budget plan putting a proposed tax code overhaul on the same partisan procedural path that led to the anti-Obamacare initiative's chaotic downfall late on Monday.
The setback sent the US dollar to a 10-month low against a basket of major currencies as investors worried about the impact on other administration reform efforts.
"The healthcare bill not coming through raises some continued concerns about the ability of Washington to push through favoyrable fiscal policies," said Lisa Kopp, head of traditional investments at US Bank Wealth Management.
Reuters, AP