What Time Will the Obamacare Repeal Vote Be Held?

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Donald Trump at CPAC 2014. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

The United States House of Representatives is getting ready to vote on the American Health Care Act, the Republican party’s replacement for the Affordable Care Act.

The House was originally expected vote on the American Health Care Act on Thursday, March 23rd. However, on Thursday afternoon, the vote was delayed.

The final vote is now expected to take place in the afternoon on Friday, March 24th between 3:45 p.m. and 4:45 p.m. Eastern Time.

That time frame comes from Majority Whip Steve Scalise, who said in an email today that the first votes will begin between 10:15 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. Eastern Time and that the whole process should be over by 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time at the latest, according to US News’ reporter David Catanese.

During today’s White House press briefing, Sean Spicer said that he expected the vote to take place between 3:30 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

The entire Obamacare repeal process, including all hours of the floor debate, will be broadcast live on C-SPAN and streamed live on C-SPAN’s website. However, it is necessary to have a cable log-in that includes C-SPAN in order to watch. You can also stream the entire thing live for free right here.

There will also be all-day coverage of the vote on CNN. If you do not have a cable subscription, you can still watch CNN by signing up for a 7-day free trial of Sling TV and selecting the “best of live TV” package.

In the hours ahead of this Obamacare repeal vote, it has become increasingly unclear whether Republicans actually have the votes to pass the American Health Care Act.

In the House of Representatives, 216 yes votes are needed if the American Health Care Act is to pass. Assuming every Democrat votes against the bill as they are expected to, no more than 21 Republicans can vote no if the bill is to make it through.

More than 21 Republicans have expressed skepticism towards the American Health Care Act. However, the Trump administration has been busy trying to change minds and whip up support for the bill. On Wednesday morning, President Trump tweeted that it was a big day for health care and that he and his team are working hard.

President Trump met with members of the House Freedom Caucus at the White House to discuss the health care bill on Thursday morning. Members of the caucus said after the meeting that no deal was reached.