Hollywood Reacts to Surprise Defeat of Obamacare Skinny Repeal, Praises ‘Hero’ McCain

Rob Reiner, Rosie O’Donnell, John Legend and more praise Sen. John McCain after historic down-to-the-wire vote

john mccain Skinny Repeal vote
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Hollywood erupted with relief at the U.S. Senate’s surprise rejection early Friday morning of the so-called “skinny repeal” of Obamacare — with many offering praise for the three Republicans who helped defeat the bill, including surprise party switch-hitter John McCain.

“Senator John McCain is a man of his word and a true hero,” Rob Reiner tweeted. “Compassion and heart wins the day.”

“Thanks to the Senators who voted to kill that stupid, heartless bill,” John Legend wrote.

The Senate voted 49-51, with McCain splitting from fellow Republicans to cast the deciding vote. The vote on the so-called “Skinny Repeal” bill came just after 1:30 a.m. ET, following hours of efforts by GOP leaders, including Vice President Mike Pence, to convince Republicans like Maine Sen. Susan Collins and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, to vote yea.

Neither budged, and in the end the effort concentrated on McCain, who on Tuesday helped make early Friday’s vote possible. He left the hospital where he is being treated for aggressive brain cancer to vote in favor of bringing various Republican health care bills to the floor for debate. Had McCain voted with the Republicans, creating a 50-50 tie, Vice President Mike Pence would have cast the deciding vote.

President Donald Trump took to his favorite medium as well, tweeting: “3 Republicans and 48 Democrats let the American people down. As I said from the beginning, let ObamaCare implode, then deal. Watch!”

See some more of the reactions below.

https://twitter.com/JoyAnnReid/status/890892697891942401

https://twitter.com/JSim07/status/890813417036029952

https://twitter.com/jonfavs/status/890813278170918912

Thom Geier

Thom is an award-winning editor and writer with a keen knowledge of American pop culture and a knack for finding original approaches that inform and delight readers. He’s handled breaking news as well as long-term feature packages, mentored young writers who have become industry leaders, and developed fresh, shareable content across both print and digital…

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