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Trump sets ultimatum on health care bill

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Update: 2017-03-24 06:04:48
Trump sets ultimatum on health care bill

DHAKA: US President Donald Trump has demanded a make-or-break vote in the House of Representatives on Friday on his troubled healthcare bill.

The American Healthcare Act is intended to replace parts of President Barack Obama's signature “Obamacare” law, reports the BBC.

A vote on Thursday was delayed because of opposition from some Republicans.

Trump reportedly warned fellow Republicans that they had a choice between voting for his bill on Friday or being stuck with Obamacare for good.

The president made the warning during a closed-door meeting at the White House, US media reported.

Republican and House Speaker Paul Ryan said: “For seven-and-a-half years we have been promising the American people that we will repeal and replace this broken law because it's collapsing and it's failing families, and tomorrow we're proceeding.”

Meanwhile, Chris Collins, New York's Republican representative, said: “The president has said he wants a vote tomorrow, up or down. If for any reason it is down, we are just going to move forward with additional parts of his agenda.”

Repealing and replacing Obamacare was a major plank of Trump's election campaign, but his replacement has stalled amid Republican infighting. The party is unable find a compromise: the current reforms go too far for some and not far enough for others.

The postponement of Thursday's vote was a setback for the president, who had insisted he would win the numbers to pass it through the lower chamber of Congress on that day.

He needs a minimum of 216 Republicans to vote for the bill. If 22 Republicans join the Democrats in voting against the bill it will fail, and an Associated Press tally late on Thursday suggested that at least 28 Republicans opposed it.

BDST: 1558 HRS, MAR 24, 2017
AP

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