McConnell Delays Vote On Health Care After McCain Surgery

WASHINGTON (AP) — Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he will delay consideration of health care legislation in the Senate, after Sen. John McCain's announced absence following surgery left Republicans short of votes on their marquee legislation.

McConnell's Saturday announcement was another setback for GOP efforts to repeal and replace "Obamacare" after years of promises. McConnell issued his statement not long after McCain's office disclosed he had undergone surgery to remove a blood clot from above his left eye, and had been advised by doctors to stay in Arizona next week to recover.

With McConnell's health care legislation already hanging by a thread in the Senate, McCain's absence meant it would become impossible for the majority leader to round up votes needed to move the bill forward next week as planned.