House Republicans have pulled a bill to repeal major parts of the Affordable Care Act after failing to secure enough votes despite heavy lobbying from President Trump. The bill was opposed by the entire Democratic party as well as some moderate Republicans and many members of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus.

House Republicans have pulled a bill to repeal major parts of the Affordable Care Act after failing to secure enough votes despite heavy lobbying from President Trump. The bill was opposed by the entire Democratic party as well as some moderate Republicans and many members of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus.

The bill was projected to leave 24 million fewer people insured by 2026 than under Obamacare. The bill also included over $275 billion in tax breaks for wealthy Americans.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) praised the news. “The defeat of the disastrous Trump-Ryan health care bill is a major victory for the working families of this country and for the hundreds of thousands who attended rallies and town hall meetings in opposition to this bill,” Sanders said. “What the defeat of this bill shows is that the American people will not accept legislation that provides huge tax breaks to billionaires while 24 million people are kicked off their health insurance, massive cuts are made to Medicaid and Planned Parenthood and premiums for senior citizens are dramatically increased. Our job is to improve the Affordable Care Act, not repeal it. Our job is to guarantee health care to all people as a right, not a privilege.”

Paul Ryan says “we're going to be living with Obamacare for the foreseeable future” pic.twitter.com/rkLPpOsAgJ

— Sky News (@SkyNews) March 24, 2017

On today’s broadcast, Democracy Now! spoke with John McDonough, a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health who worked on the development and passage of the Affordable Care Act.

Will House Republicans ‘Jump Off the Cliff’ and Cut Healthcare for 24 Million Americans?