Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has announced that the upper chamber will delay consideration of a Republican bill to repeal and replace Obamacare while Sen. John McCain recovers from surgery.
McCain, 80, underwent a medical procedure at Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix on Friday to remove a blood clot from above his left eye, his office announced Saturday afternoon. Doctors ordered a week of rest.
The Arizona Republican had said earlier on Saturday that he would be absent in the Senate next week, depriving fellow Republicans of the vote on the healthcare legislation.
Without McCain, Republicans would not have had the 50 votes necessary to advance the bill.
McConnell tweeted that the Senate will work on other legislative items and “will defer consideration of the Better Care Act” while McCain is recovering.
“Elaine and I, along with the entire Senate family, wish John the very best and wish him a speedy recovery,” the Kentucky Republican said…