Calling in sick
GOP delays health vote after McCain surgery
ARIZONA SEN. John McCain has suffered a blood clot that’s forced the GOP leadership to put its ailing health care legislation on ice.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Saturday night he was postponing action on the bill as McCain (photo inset) recovers at his home in Arizona.
The abrupt announcement came a day after surgeons at the Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix removed a blood clot above McCain’s left eye.
The 80-year-old former presidential candidate was advised by doctors to remain hunkered down in Arizona through next week, his office said.
“While John is recovering, the Senate will continue our work on legislative items and nominations, and will defer consideration of the Better Care Act,” McConnell said in a statement. McCain’s unforeseen health issue threw a wrench into what was already a precarious GOP plan to vanquish Obamacare. The new-fangled Senate bill, rolled out last Thursday, is seen to be on a knife edge after two Republicans came out immediately vowing to oppose it. With the GOP holding a 52-48 majority, they can afford to lose only two Republicans. McConnell has been eager to fast-track the bill to prevent its critics from mounting a sustained effort to mobilize opposition. In addition to Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Susan Collins of Maine, a handful of other Republicans have expressed
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concerns about the legislation. Several governors on both sides of the aisle, as well as insurance associations and consumer groups, have castigated the bill.
McConnell was hoping to move forward in the coming days with a procedural vote to begin debate on the legislation.
Earlier Saturday, the Mayo Clinic revealed that surgeons removed McCain’s nearly 2-inch clot in a minimally invasive procedure that went “very well.”
Pathology reports on the clot were expected in the next several days.
“He is in good spirits and recovering comfortably at home with his family,” McCain’s office said. FORMER FBI Director James Comey is reportedly penning a tell-all that will cover his short-lived tenure under President Trump. Comey has been meeting with editors and publishers in the city over the last week, The New York Times reported Saturday. The proposed book will explore the principles the 56-year-old has used to navigate his legal career. It will also address the bureau’s investigation of Hillary Clinton’s email server while she was secretary of state, and his probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election — which led to his ouster just four years into a 10year term.