President Donald Trump on Tuesday thanked Senate Republicans for voting to open debate on a measure to repeal Obamacare, though it remains unclear what that proposal will be.
“I’m very happy to announce that with zero of the Democrats’ votes, the motion to proceed on health care has just passed,” Trump said during a joint White House press conference with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri. “This was a big step.”
He thanked Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who flew in to vote days after being diagnosed with brain cancer, for making “a tough trip to get here.”
“Very brave man,” Trump said. “So we want to thank Sen. McCain and all of the Republicans. We passed it without one Democrat vote.”
He said it was “very sad” that two Republican senators, Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), opposed the motion to proceed, and called health care “always difficult.”
“It is a very, very complex and difficult task. But it’s something I actually know quite a bit about,” Trump said. “I want to congratulate American people because we’re going to give you great health care.”
It remains unclear what the final legislation would look like or whether Republican leadership will be able to muster enough votes to get it to Trump’s desk.
