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A4 U.S. NEWS
Saturday 29 July 2017
McCain, expected to save health bill,

became the executioner

By ERICA WERNER eryone Friday by turning on the GOP win control of the
AP Congressional Corre- his party and his president House, the Senate and the
spondent and joining two other GOP White House. It was a mo-
WASHINGTON (AP) — John senators in voting “no” on ment burning with drama,
McCain seemed poised to the Republicans’ final effort irony and contradictions,
be the savior of the GOP to repeal “Obamacare.” playing out live on a tense
health bill when he re- That killed the bill. Senate floor. Eighty years
turned to the Capitol de- And it also dealt what looks old and in the twilight of
From left, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Sen. John McCain, R- spite a brain cancer diag- like a death blow to the a remarkable career, Mc-
Ariz., and Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., speak to reporters at the
Capitol as the Republican-controlled Senate unable to fulfill nosis. He turned out to be Republican Party’s years Cain lived up to his reputa-
their political promise to repeal and replace “Obamacare” the executioner. of promises to get rid of tion as a maverick. When
because of opposition and wavering within the GOP ranks,, on The longtime Arizona sena- Barack Obama’s health he walked into the well of
Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, July 27, 2017. tor stunned pretty much ev- law, pledges that helped the Senate around 1:30
(AP Photo/Cliff Owen) a.m. and gave a thumbs-
down to the legislation,
there were audible gasps.
Democrats briefly broke
into cheers, which Minor-
ity Leader Chuck Schum-
er quickly waved his arm
to quiet. Majority Leader
Mitch McConnell stood
stone-faced, his arms
crossed. McCain had just
saved the signature legis-
lative achievement of the
man who beat him for the
presidency in 2008, a law
the senator himself had
vigorously campaigned
against while seeking a
sixth Senate term last year.
Friday afternoon, McCain’s
office announced he was
returning to Arizona to be-
gin radiation and chemo-
therapy treatments for his
brain tumor. After so many
years as a senator, with so
little left to lose, McCain
had taken a stand for the
Senate he used to inhabit,
the one where he made
deals across the aisle with
the likes of Ted Kennedy,
not the riven, stalemated
Congress of today. “We
have seen the world’s
greatest deliberative body
succumb to partisan ran-
cor and gridlock,” McCain
said in a statement.
“The vote last night pres-
ents the Senate with an
opportunity to start fresh.
It is now time to return to
regular order with input
from all of our members
— Republicans and Demo-
crats — and bring a bill to
the floor of the Senate for
amendment and debate.”
President Donald Trump
tweeted his disapproval
of McCain’s “no’” vote,
as well as those of fellow
GOP Sens. Susan Collins of
Maine and Lisa Murkowski
of Alaska whose opposition
had been expected.q