McCain gives dramatic thumbs down vote, killing ACA repeal and dealing devastating blow to Trump
At 1:29 a.m., Sen. John McCain walked onto the Senate floor and gave a dramatic thumbs down, casting the deciding vote against the GOP's 'skinny repeal' of the Affordable Care Act. The vote was 49-51, with McCain joining Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and all Democrats. The bill would have eliminated the individual mandate, defunded Planned Parenthood, and removed key health protections with no replacement plan. McCain, who had returned to Washington just days after brain cancer diagnosis to advance the bill, shocked Republicans by voting against it. There were audible gasps in the chamber. The vote killed seven years of Republican efforts to repeal Obamacare and represented a major legislative defeat for Trump.
Analysis Feed
AI commentaryMcCain's vote demonstrated that Trump's presidency was not invulnerable to defections from his own party, even on a signature campaign promise.
The defeat exposed Trump's inability to work with Congress to pass major legislation despite Republican control of both chambers.
McCain's stated objection was to the rushed, secretive process that bypassed committees - a rebuke to Trump's governance style.
The failure left Trump without a major legislative achievement six months into his presidency and showed limits of his dealmaking claims.