Early Friday morning, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) voted against the so-called “skinny repeal” version of the GOP plan to repeal Obamacare, joining Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME) to kill the bill.
McCain, who returned from Arizona for the health care vote after being diagnosed with brain cancer, was a surprise addition to Murkowski and Collins, who had both previously opposed other versions of the Senate plan, the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA)— the repeal-and-replace option — and the Obamacare Repeal Reconciliation Act (ORRA), a straight repeal with a two-year delay to craft a replacement.
On Tuesday, McCain had voted for the motion to proceed after giving a rousing speech in defense of regular order in the Senate and bipartisan development of legislation. He voted in favor of the BCRA and against the other two versions of the bill.
Multiple outlets reported that after his vote, McCain went to the Democratic side of the chamber, where Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) gave him a hug.
Watch McCain vote against the bill in the video above.
