Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky. walks from his office on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, June 26, 2017. Senate Republicans unveil a revised health care bill in hopes of securing support from wavering GOP lawmakers, including one who calls the drive to whip his party's bill through the Senate this week "a little offensive." (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) </s> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Republican leaders postponed a vote on a healthcare overhaul on Tuesday 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 ahead of 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 program 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. “We’re optimistic we’re going to get to a result that is better than the status quo.”

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 okay.”

McConnell, whose party has a razor-thin majority in the 100-member Senate, told reporters that Republican leaders would work through the week to win over the 50 senators needed to pass the bill, with a vote planned after the recess. Vice President Mike Pence could provide the crucial vote needed to break a tie.

Related Coverage Top Senate Republican expresses optimism on healthcare bill after Trump meeting

“I think we can get 50 votes to yes by the end of the week,” Republican Senator Roger Wicker said after the White House meeting.

REPUBLICAN OPPOSITION GROWS

The House of Representatives last month passed its own version of a healthcare bill, but the Senate bill has been criticized from both the left and the right. Moderate Republicans worried millions of people would lose their insurance. Conservatives said the bill does not do enough to erase Obamacare.

The bill’s prospects were not helped by a Congressional Budget Office analysis on Monday saying it would cause 22 million Americans to lose insurance over the next decade, although it would reduce the federal deficit by $321 billion over that period.

The report prompted Senator Susan Collins, a Republican moderate, to say she could not support the bill as it stands. At least four conservative Republican senators said they were still opposed after the CBO analysis.

Three more Republicans, Rob Portman of Ohio, Jerry Moran of Kansas and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, said after the delay was announced that they oppose the current draft.

Portman and Capito cited the bill’s Medicaid cutbacks and how that would hurt efforts to combat the opioid epidemic that has taken a heavy toll in their states. The Medicaid program was expanded under former President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law.

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Senate Republicans about healthcare in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., June 27, 2017. Trump is flanked by Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

“I think giving time to digest is a good thing,” Republican Senator Bob Corker said after the delay was announced.

“UNCERTAINTY” ON WALL STREET

U.S. stock prices fell, as the decision to postpone the vote added to investor worries about Trump’s ability to deliver on his promises of tax reform and deregulation, as well as changes to the health sector. Those expected changes have driven a rally in U.S. stocks this year.

The benchmark S&P; 500 index closed down 0.8 percent, and the Dow Jones industrial average finished down 0.46 percent.

“The market likes certainty and now there’s uncertainty. What is this going to look like when this gets out of the next iteration?” said Peter Costa, president of trading firm Empire Executions Inc.

Passing the measure would be a win for Trump as he seeks to shift attention after weeks of questions over Russia’s role in last year’s U.S. presidential election.

McConnell has promised since 2010 that Republicans, who view Obamacare as a costly government intrusion, would destroy the law “root and branch” if they controlled Congress and the White House. Republicans worry a failure to deliver will cost them votes in next year’s congressional elections.

If the Senate passes a healthcare bill, it will either have to be approved by the House or the two chambers would reconcile the differences in a conference committee. Otherwise, the House could pass a new version and send it back to the Senate.

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Lawmakers are expected to leave town by Friday for their July 4 holiday break, which runs all next week. The Senate returns to work on July 10, the House on July 11. Lawmakers then have three weeks in session before their month-long August recess.

(This story corrects Dow Jones industrial average’s percent loss in 16th paragraph.) </s> Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told Republican senators Tuesday he’s delaying a vote on the GOP health care bill until after the Fourth of July recess because he doesn’t have the votes to move it to debate, two senior Senate Republican aides told ABC News.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell formally confirmed the delay, saying, “We’re going to continue the discussions within our conference on the differences that we have.”

Sen. John Thune, R-Neb., stressed that the goal was to still replace Obamacare. “While the schedule may have slipped a little bit, we are intent on rescuing Americans from a failed systems that has driven up their cost and made it more difficult for them to find coverage,” Thune said.

Earlier Tuesday, Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn told ABC News: “I expect to have the support and get it done…and yes, we will vote this week.”

At least five Republican senators said they’d opposed the procedural vote on the GOP health care plan, effectively blocking the bill from reaching the Senate floor.

In order to pass the health care bill through the Senate, Republicans can afford only two defections. In the event of a tie, they have the option of calling in Vice President Mike Pence to cast the tie-breaking vote.

Before the delay was announced, Republicans senators were invited to the White House for a meeting with President Donald Trump.

“The president invited us to come down,” McConnell said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon. “The White House has been very much involved in these discussions. They’re very anxious to help, and we appreciate the invitation, and I hope all of our members will head down.” </s> Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell walks to a meeting in the U.S. Capitol on July 25, 2017 in Washington. The U.S. Senate is scheduled to hold a key procedural vote later today on U.S. President Donald Trump's effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

Win McNamee / Getty Images </s> Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is aiming to send a revised version of his health care bill to the Congressional Budget Office by as soon as Friday, according to Capitol Hill aides and lobbyists.

The effort reflects the tight timeline McConnell faces in his attempt to hold a vote before the August recess – and the pressure he is under to make changes that improve the CBO’s measure of the bill’s impact on coverage levels and federal spending.

McConnell is trying to move quickly to produce a new CBO score by the time lawmakers return to Washington in mid-July, giving the Senate about two weeks to fulfill the majority leader’s goal of voting before the August recess.

McConnell and his aides plan to continue negotiations through the end of the week and will be in frequent communication with the CBO, according to McConnell spokesman David Popp.

It remains unclear exactly what parts of the Better Care Reconciliation Act are being revised – or whether McConnell is trying to move the measure to the right, with greater savings or regulatory adjustments, or to the left, with more coverage protections. McConnell needs to bring on board about nine Republican senators,including Susan Collins of Maine, who have said they wouldn’t vote for the billin its current form. Moving to the right would appease conservatives in the Senate – but also in the House, where any Senate bill would also have to pass.

Aides both at the White House and on Capitol Hill are aware of the effort, several Republican aides said Wednesday on condition of anonymity to discuss private talks. One aide described the situation as akin to the weeks leading up to the draft bill’s release, when McConnell presented chunks of the emerging legislation to CBO to expedite the scoring process. The aide expected Republican leaders to present tweaks to CBO for review as soon as this week.

Another aide said that after Tuesday’s meeting with President Trump at the White House, Republicans have a better sense now of what everyone wants. A draft is not yet ready, but the reworking process has begun.

Robert Costa, Kelsey Snell, Paul Kane and Juliet Eilperin contributed to this report. </s> Three Republican senators Tuesday effectively scuttled Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act without replacing it. This was hours after the Senate's bill to repeal and replace Obamacare was blocked when two more GOP senators came out in opposition to it. </s> Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., center, who has expressed opposition to his own party's health care bill, walks to a policy meeting as the Senate Republican legislation teeters on the brink of collapse, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., needs 50 members of his conference to back the GOP health care bill in order to pass it. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) </s> WASHINGTON (AP) – The Senate has voted to move ahead on health care legislation aimed at dismantling the Obama health law.

The vote was 51-50 on Tuesday, a victory for Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and President Donald Trump. Last week, McConnell was forced to postpone the vote, lacking the support of conservatives and moderates.

In a dramatic turn, Sen. John McCain returned from Arizona where he is battling brain cancer to cast a crucial vote on proceeding on health care.

The vote sets up days of debate and votes on repealing and replacing Barack Obama’s health care law. Whatever the Senate approves still requires a vote in the House.

A short time later, President Donald Trump praised the Senate for moving forward on health care repeal. He says a vote Tuesday to take up the Republican health care bill “was a big step.”

Trump adds that he wants “to congratulate the American people” because better health care is on the way.

Shouting “Kill the bill” and “shame,” the demonstrators stood in the visitors’ gallery and chanted. They were led out of the chamber by police but could still be heard.

The Senate chamber was packed, with lawmakers standing to cast their votes.

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 Stay Up To Date, Follow KDKA On Twitter </s> The fate of President Donald Trump's health care plan rests in the hands of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The Kentucky Republican has said he wants a final vote on the Senate version of the American Health Care Act before Washington leaves for the July 4 recess. The challenges are clear; a half dozen Republican Senators have already said they can't support the legislation in its current form. McConnell can afford to lose only two. So, how can he hope to pull it off? For answers to that question, I reached out to Josh Holmes, a former McConnell chief of staff and campaign manager, who is now president of Cavalry, a Republican consulting firm. Holmes remains close to McConnell and brings a clear perspective -- strongly pro -- of the majority leader. Nonetheless, his insight into how McConnell goes about his legislative business in invaluable. Our conversation, conducted via email and lightly edited for flow, is below.

Cillizza: Describe Mitch McConnell's strategy so far with the health care bill.

Holmes: McConnell doesn't advertise his strategy but I'll give you my best guess on what's driving the action. In every big effort I've ever been associated with, McConnell begins by absorbing 90% of the political pressure himself. He plots a pathway that shoulders almost all of the political danger and allows his members to work things through without suffocating from critics. You can already see how that's played out in this debate with the prolonged focus on McConnell and the condensed timeline for his members.

Second, one of McConnell's great gifts is his ability to listen to his members. The product is always a direct reflection of the views of his conference -- not his own dictation. He and his staff have clearly spent countless hours talking to Senators about what they need because the bill they've come up with appears to be the closest you can get to consensus without applying the closing arguments. What sits before his members is a bill that does not create the same kind of paralyzing political problems that previous efforts have produced. It also includes gigantic conservative victories that could very well constitute the most significant conservative reforms in generations.

Third, he frames the debate. His members know he would not be taking something up if it weren't vitally important but sometimes everyone needs to reset the dial on why they're about to make a tough decision. McConnell has an uncanny ability to lay out the wisdom behind an approach and the potential pitfalls with various directions. In this case, clearly his members understand the problem. The insurance markets are failing and in all likelihood, without a reform effort undertaken now by Republicans, Congress could very well be addressing this again in the fall with a package that looks a lot more like a bailout than repeal. Worse yet, Republicans could lose a couple elections and the conversation about repairing the insurance markets will undoubtedly mean shifting towards the liberal dream of single-payer. If that weren't enough, it is the only opportunity Republican senators will have to keep their promise with respect to Obamacare. The enormity of the pressure for senators to keep that promise will weigh heavily on most of the remaining holdouts and for others, the failing system should provide ample motivation.

Fourth, McConnell always keeps moving forward. He has a profound sense of peace when the pressure is most intense. The intensity usually wears on politicians and most inevitably make a mistake, a rash decision, or otherwise compromise their ability to get something done. McConnell never lets his emotions dictate the pace of play -- he sets a timeline and marches forward. In this debate, the decisions are difficult, they are not unknown. He understands that time does not improve difficult decisions, it only delays them. The prevailing view appears to be that a difficult decision at the end of June is better than a difficult one at the end of July, because the outcome -- whatever it is -- will in all likelihood be the same. Five, he knows how to count votes. The world will find out where the votes are after they've been called but it won't be a mystery to the Senate Majority Leader. Cillizza: You have, at least, six GOP Senators expressing concern about the legislation. How does McConnell handle the unique challenges posed by that six-headed monster? Holmes: He inherently knows where he has room to maneuver and where he doesn't. He keeps a close watch on his fellow Senators and makes observances about what they need. With unanimous Democratic opposition to anything that touches Obamacare, the pathway is exceedingly narrow. In fact, if you had a Venn Diagram of the moderate and conservative concerns about health care reform the overlap may be invisible to the naked eye. McConnell will make find every inch of territory he has to make accommodations to ensure Senators are as comfortable as they can possibly be with the bill. Cillizza: McConnell is widely regarded as master legislative strategist. What's the biggest legislative victory you can remember -- and how did he make it happen? Holmes: Honestly, there isn't much of consequence that has moved in the last decade without his leadership. The campaign finance bills of the 1990s were certainly where he showed he was a cut above. The one that stands out to me was the : Honestly, there isn't much of consequence that has moved in the last decade without his leadership. The campaign finance bills of the 1990s were certainly where he showed he was a cut above. The one that stands out to me was the Budget Control Act of 2011 . The country was at the brink of default, negotiations between Speaker Boehner and President Obama had imploded, Harry Reid took to the Senate floor to pronounce everything dead, and credit agencies were downgrading America. Somehow through all of that, McConnell managed to negotiate the largest spending cut in generations with a Democratic Senate and Vice President Joe Biden a day before default. Cillizza: What makes McConnell good at this -- character-wise? What are the traits that distinguish him from other senators? Holmes: Mitch McConnell has hundreds of things that set him apart but here are 6 that are relevant to this week: 1. Focus. McConnell's ability to tune out the noise and stay concentrated is unprecedented. 2. He absolutely refuses to lose. It's that Michael Jordan-like intensity that just keeps him charging ahead when almost everyone else would throw up their hands. 3. He has humility. McConnell is motivated by accomplishment not who gets the credit. 4. He doesn't let mistakes cripple his progress. 5. He is loyal and possesses a long memory. That works both ways obviously. I always think you can always determine an effective leader by the loyalty of the people around them. I've never met a former staffer of Mitch McConnell's who doesn't love him. 6. He reads people better than anyone I've ever encountered and genuinely cares about their view. If you've got something productive to offer on a topic, he'll bring it out of you. Cillizza: Finish this sentence: "The chances of the Senate passing a health care bill before July 4 is ________%." Now, explain. Holmes: I don't do percentages well. I think they will get it done.
The U.S. Republican Party's leadership, facing strong opposition to the Senate version of H.R. 1628, the American Health Care Act of 2017, postpones the planned vote on the bill, a setback to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.