Republicans delay healthcare vote

WASHINGTON: US Senate Republican leaders have postponed a vote on a healthcare overhaul after resistance from members of their own party, and President Donald Trump summoned Republican senators to the White House to urge them to break the impasse.

The delay put the future of a longtime top Republican priority in doubt amid concerns about the Senate Bill from both moderate and conservative Republicans. With Democrats united in their opposition, Republicans can afford to lose only two votes among their own ranks in the Senate.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had been pushing for a vote before the July 4 recess that starts at the end of the week. The legislation would repeal major elements of Obamacare and shrink the Medicaid Government healthcare programme for the poor.

‘‘We’re going to press on,’’ McConnell said after announcing the delay, adding that leaders would keep working to make senators ‘‘comfortable’’ with the Bill.

At the White House meeting with most of the 52 Republican senators, Trump said it was vital to reach agreement on the Senate healthcare measure because Obamacare was ‘‘melting down’’.

‘‘So we’re going to talk and we’re going to see what we can do. We’re getting very close,’’ Trump told the senators. But he added: ‘‘If we don’t get it done, it’s just going to be something that we’re not going to like, and that’s OK’’. — Reuters

PHOTO: REUTERS Seeing red . . . Women dressed as handmaids from the novel, film and television series The Handmaid’s Tale demonstrate against cuts for Planned Parenthood in the Republican Senate healthcare Bill at the Capitol in Washington yesterday.