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US police arrest 155 people protesting against Trump’s healthcare bill

Thursday, 20 July 2017 4:57 AM [ Last Update: Thursday, 20 July 2017 8:31 PM ]

Members of US Capitol police arrest activists who were protesting against the Republican health care repeal-and-replace legislation in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill July 19, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by AFP)

Dozens of protesters have been arrested in the United States while holding a sit-in against President Donald Trump’s proposed healthcare bill.

Police in Washington, DC, said around 155 demonstrators were detained inside three Senate office buildings on Wednesday.

The demonstrators were angry over plans to repeal former President Barack Obama's signature healthcare bill, commonly known as Obamacare, without offering an immediate substitute plan, report said.

"Please Sen. Toomey! Please don't kill me!" the protesters yelled outside the office of Republican Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania. "Shame! Shame! Shame!"

The protests came hours before Vice President Mike Pence was due to tour Capitol Hill on Wednesday night to encourage Republican lawmakers to reach agreement on repealing or overhauling Obamacare.

Demonstrations against GOP efforts to overhaul healthcare plan have been commonplace in the US, since the election of President Trump.

On Monday, the US Republican Party called for the repealing of the American Care Act, after failing to gather adequate support for its replacement bill.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that his party had failed to unite behind the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) despite having a 52-48 majority over Democrats in the 100-member Senate.

The latest GOP attempt to repeal and replace Obamacare was fatally wounded in the Senate when two more Republican senators voiced their opposition to the legislation.

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The announcements from Mike Lee of Utah and Jerry Moran of Kansas effectively stalled the bill in the upper chamber. Senators Susan Collins and Rand Paul had already opposed the bill, arguing that could slash funding for Medicaid, the health insurance program for the poor and the disabled.

This is yet another embarrassing failure for Republicans, who saw Trump’s election victory as an opportunity to deliver on their decade-long campaign promise to introduce a new healthcare system.

A new poll shows that a majority of Americans oppose the GOP legislation.

The Washington Post/ABC News poll, released on Monday, shows 50 percent prefer Obamacare while only 24 percent prefer the Republican health plan, also called Trumpcare. Thirteen percent of respondents said they like neither.

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