U.S. Senate TV/Handout via Reuters
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer was moved to near tears while speaking about Sen. John McCain early Friday morning after the Republican “skinny repeal” of Obamacare failed on the Senate floor.
Schumer echoed the sentiments of Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, who earlier declared that it was time for lawmakers to “move on” from efforts to repeal the existing law, officially known as the Affordable Care Act. Schumer choked up as he turned his attention to McCain, who was recently diagnosed with brain cancer.
“And let’s turn the page in another way. All of us were so inspired by the speech and the life of the senator from Arizona,” Schumer said. “And he asked us to go back to regular order; to bring back the Senate that some of us who’ve been here a while remember.”
“Maybe this can be a moment where we start doing that,” he said.
McCain, and two other Republican senators — Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine — voted no on the “skinny repeal,” officially titled the Health Care Freedom Act. They joined the 48 Democrats who also rejected it, effectively killing the bill.
Watch Chuck Schumer’s remarks below:
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