House GOP abruptly pulls troubled health care bill
WASHINGTON -- Republican leaders have abruptly pulled their troubled health care overhaul bill off the House floor, short of votes and eager to avoid a humiliating defeat for President Donald Trump and GOP leaders.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., withdrew the legislation after Trump called him and asked him to halt debate without a vote, according to Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong. Just a day earlier, Trump had demanded a House vote and said if the measure lost, he would move on to other issues.
President Donald Trump says his health care reform fell short because it lacked support from Democrats.
Trump made his first comments about the failure of a signature legislative item Friday in the Oval Office a short time after a House vote on the bill was cancelled.
RAW VIDEO: Paul Ryan speaks after pulled health care bill
Trump told reporters "we were very close" and tried to blame Democrats, through Republicans control both the House and the Senate.
He also predicted the Affordable Care Act would soon implode, forcing Democrats to join the Republicans at the negotiating table.
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