WASHINGTON: US Republicans failed spectacularly Friday in their latest effort to dismantle Obamacare, leaving the party in stunned disarray and President Donald Trump’s dreams of repealing his predecessor’s health reforms on ice.
The vote — held in the dead of night — came down to the wire, with the decisive moment resting with Senator John McCain, recently diagnosed with brian cancer, who sided with two moderate Republicans in voting with Democrats to oppose the legislation.
“This was a disappointment, a disappointment indeed,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told colleagues after one of the most tense votes in years on the Senate floor.
“I regret that our efforts were simply not enough this time.”
The collapse marks a major setback for Republican leadership and for Trump, who had campaigned relentlessly on a pledge to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act passed under his predecessor Barack Obama in 2010.
Friday’s vote, which capped a series of failed efforts in recent months to get an Obamacare repeal measure over the line, was on a so-called “skinny repeal” bill that would have rolled back only parts of Obamacare but kept the bulk of the law intact.
It crashed to defeat, 49-51.
Senate leadership had never intended “skinny repeal” to become law, but rather to serve as a vehicle with which to join forces with House Republicans and craft a broader repeal-and-replace plan.
The vote was always going to be close, with Senate Republicans Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski telegraphing that they would oppose the measure.
Vice President Mike Pence was brought to the chamber around midnight, in case he would be needed to break a 50-50 tie.
But he never got the opportunity, as McCain, whose war hero status was mocked by Trump in 2015, refused to cave to pressure to get on board.
While several Democrats clapped when McCain cast his “no” vote, the mood remained somber in the chamber after the defeat.
“We are not celebrating; we are relieved,” said top Democrat Chuck Schumer.
“Let’s turn the page and work together to improve our health care system,” he added.
US Senate rejects partial Obamacare repeal, bitter blow to Trump
US Senate rejects partial Obamacare repeal, bitter blow to Trump
Starting anew: Indonesians in disaster-struck Sumatra hold Christmas mass
- Many in the congregation are still sheltering at evacuation sites after the disaster wreaked havoc on the island four weeks ago
SOUTH TAPANULI: At a church in Sumatra, dozens of worshippers sang hymns at a Christmas mass, gathered together for their first service since deadly floods swept the Indonesian island.
The Angkola Protestant Church, in the hard-hit South Tapanuli district, was festooned on Wednesday with balloons and simple Christmas decorations.
Outside, the street leading to the building was buried under mounds of debris and foliage.
Many in the congregation are still sheltering at evacuation sites after the disaster wreaked havoc on the island four weeks ago.
Churchgoer Krismanto Nainggolan said this year’s Christmas service was “different,” even as he noted joy in the bittersweet moment.
“The feelings are mixed. Every word of the pastor’s sermon made us want to cry,” he told AFP after the Christmas mass.
“But the spirit of Christmas... gave us strength,” he added.
Krismanto lost his house in the flooding, while many of his neighbors were killed.
According to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, 1,129 people died, and more than 170 others are still missing.
While the annual monsoon season often brings heavy rain to Indonesia, this month’s deluge was among the worst disasters to strike Sumatra since a magnitude-9.1 earthquake triggered a massive tsunami in 2004.
In South Tapanuli, churchgoer Mea Rosmawati Zebua said she had not expected to be able to celebrate Christmas this year.
“In past years, Christmas was a routine. Now, (we are) very grateful because God still gives us the breath of life,” the 54-year-old told AFP.
While Christmas mass is typically held in the evening, the Angkola church moved its service to Wednesday afternoon ahead of rain forecast in the evening, pastor Yansen Roberto Ritonga said.
To prepare for the first service since the disaster, the church had to remove towering heaps of mud that had been washed inside.
Soldiers and police had helped clear the debris and driftwood.
On Wednesday afternoon, a man rang the church’s bell before the pastor’s entrance, marking the start of the mass.
Around 30 worshippers, each of them holding a lit candle, sung Christmas hymns.
Yansen said this year’s Christmas served as a moment of “reflection” for the congregation.
Churchgoer Krismanto said that despite the widespread damage and the personal cost of the disaster, he chose to see it as a new beginning.
“Our hopes depend solely on God because we are now starting over... our lives are starting anew,” he said.
