After Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., announced he is recovering from a surgery, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., put the healthcare vote on hold indefinitely.
"While John is recovering, the Senate will continue our work on legislative items and nominations, and will defer consideration of the Better Care Act," Mr. McConnell said in a statement Saturday.
The Senate had planned to vote on the revised Better Care Reconciliation Act early this week, which would repeal and replace the ACA. However, with just 52 Republican senators, the GOP can only lose two votes to pass the bill. Republican Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Susan Collins of Maine have already come out against the bill, according to Politico, meaning Mr. McCain's vote is critical to the success of the bill. Mr. McCain was undecided on the bill, along with at least seven other Republican senators, according to Politico.
Mr. McCain had a nearly two-inch blood clot removed Friday at Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix. The surgery went "very well" and the senator plans to spend the next week recovering, according to a statement from his office. A report from The New York Times suggests Mr. McCain's recovery could take longer than a week depending on the severity of his condition, delaying the healthcare vote an additional couple of weeks.
Meanwhile, the vote is also stalled by a delay from the Congressional Budget Office in issuing a report on the financial impacts of the bill, Politico reported.
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