House leadership reportedly delays vote on endangered health-care bill

Paul Ryan. — (Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

A GOP aide told the media Thursday afternoon that there will no longer be a vote Thursday on the Republican health-care bill, after hours of desperate vote-rallying by House leadership and the White House appeared to have fallen flat.

Earlier Thursday, roughly two dozen members of the far-right House Freedom Caucus announced they would not support the American Health Care Act, which was drafted by House Speaker Paul Ryan. Several Republicans outside the conservative caucus also indicated they would not vote for the measure, narrowing its chances of passage considerably; GOP leadership could not lose more than 22 Republican votes and still pass the bill.

The White House has thrown its support behind the bill, with President Trump meeting with the House Freedom Caucus on Thursday morning to attempt to strike a deal on the bill. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer insisted earlier Thursday that as far as he knew, the vote would not be delayed and the bill would pass. "We continue to see the number [of Freedom Caucus members who support the bill] go up, not down," he said.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.