House pulls health-care bill after failing to get enough Republican votes

Paul Ryan healthcare.
(Image credit: JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)

President Trump reportedly spoke to Paul Ryan around 3 p.m. ET on Friday and agreed the House speaker should pull the health-care bill, a leadership aide told Politico. The vote was originally scheduled for Thursday afternoon before being pushed back to Friday.

Many organizations counting "no" votes found as many as 34 Republicans said they would oppose the bill ahead of the planned vote; if the legislation lost more than 22 Republican votes, the proposal would not have passed the lower chamber. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer had indicated in his early afternoon news conference that the vote was going to go ahead anyway, despite apparently not having enough support to pass, but refused to reveal the president's "strategy."

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Jeva Lange

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.