The Senate voted 51-49 to kill the bill, leaving the future of Republicans' years-long quest to "repeal and replace" the ACA in limbo. Portman was one of the seven Republican senators who voted against the repeal-only Obamacare bill.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's multiple failed attempts to pass a healthcare bill show how hard it has been for him to garner support from members of his own party on a single plan that will uproot the ACA, which Republicans say has driven up premiums and forced consumers to buy insurance they do not want and can not afford. It would have retroactively repealed the Obamacare penalty on individuals who do not purchase health insurance, repealed for eight years a penalty on certain employers who do not provide employees with insurance and repealed a medical device tax until 2020.
Moreover, the bill would leave no federal funds for the reproductive rights organisation "Planned Parenthood" and would give states flexibility in complying with some of the protections guaranteed by Obamacare.
Responding to the loss in the Senate, Mr Trump tweeted: "3 Republicans and 48 Democrats let the American people down".
McCain arrived on the Senate floor just after midnight, when debate on the "skinny" bill ended.
President Donald Trump has been urging the Senate to get something down both from his bully pulpit on Twitter and in public appearances in the past few weeks.
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He had a freakish 24 hours even before the New Yorker published its account of the interview on Thursday afternoon. Earlier in the day, Sanders would not say whether Trump had confidence in Priebus.
Sen. Tom Udall described the chaotic healthcare process as "healthcare roulette" with leadership deciding what version of a health care bill to vote on by the bounce of a ball.
"I regret that our efforts were simply not enough this time". He called for them to "let ObamaCare implode, then deal".
The legislation was crafted as a way to come up with something that could garner passage, after the Senate rejected efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare and another proposal to repeal without a replacement. "But the American people are hurting, and they need relief". Republicans released the skinny bill just three hours before voting began.
"It's time for our friends on the other side to tell us what they have in mind, and we'll see how the American people feel about their ideas", McConnell said after the vote, suggesting it was time to "move on" from healthcare.
The South Carolina Republican, along with Johnson as well as John McCain of Arizona and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, pledged that they would not vote for skinny repeal unless they received an ironclad guarantee from Ryan that there would be a conference committee. "I think maybe that happened", she told reporters, according to CNN. "It's time to move on", Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said.
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